Boeing has resumed deliveries of its 787 ‘Dreamliner’ widebody jetliner after 15 months. The 787-8 was delivered to American Airlines (American) at Boeing’s Charleston, South Carolina plant earlier this month. The airframer is now approaching the 1,500 order mark for the 787 programme, which commenced in 2003. It has delivered over 1,000 787s to customers.
The airframer had received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume deliveries of the 787 earlier this month. “Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards,” the FAA said in a statement. It will, however, inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.
“We have resumed 787 Dreamliner deliveries as American Air flew their new 787-8 from Boeing South Carolina today,” Boeing tweeted on August 11 from its official account @BoeingAirplanes. “We are grateful to our teammates who performed the methodical inspections and work to ensure that every airplane conforms to engineering specifications.”
American received the new aircraft, which has the US Registration No: N880BJ, on August 10. This was the first 787 delivered to the carrier since April 2021. American has an additional 42 787s still on order. The carrier will deploy the new aircraft into commercial service in the coming weeks. “We appreciate the work done by the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing during the review process,” American said in a release. The latest delivery takes American’s fleet of 787s to 47 (25 -8s and 22 -9s). The carrier’s 787s are 20% more fuel efficient than the aircraft they replace.
The resumption of 787 deliveries will also be a relief to Indian carriers which have the 787 on order, such as Vistara and other potential customers for the widebody type. Vistara was the first Indian carrier to operate the 787-9 when it took delivery of its first aircraft in March 2020. Vistara recently took delivery of its 3rd 787-9. It had placed an order for a total of six aircraft in 2018. Air India also operates a fleet of 27 787s, of which six are owned by the airline, and the remaining are on lease.
Positive Momentum
Following the company’s second-quarter results, announced in July, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun told employees, “Our 787 team is in the final stages of preparing to restart deliveries and continues to work through the comprehensive and transparent process with our regulator. There is no doubt that it has been a long road, but I am proud of our team for raising their hands, sharing information transparently and doing the hard work it takes to position us for success.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time with our teams in North Charleston and Everett, and the work our mechanics, technicians and engineers are doing is exceptional. It’s detailed, disciplined and rigorous – and your efforts will have a positive impact for decades to come,” he told Boeing employees.
Calhoun stated that Boeing was partnering with its supply chain to ensure the industry could meet growing demand across markets. “Supply chain constraints and inflation continue to challenge our world – and our industry is no exception. Even with demand high, we won’t chase production rates or push our system too fast. With safety and quality at the forefront, we will prioritise stability and predictability because when we get those right, all other metrics will follow.”
Calhoun added that this was a pivotal moment in Boeing’s 106-year legacy, 'Our programmes are beginning to meet key milestones, and our financials are starting to reflect our efforts. Our team is tested, prepared, and ready to deliver – and I am confident in our future.'
While reporting its second-quarter results, Boeing stated that it continued to produce the 787 at a very low rate and would continue to do so until deliveries resume. The airframer has stated that it expects a gradual increase in production to five aircraft per month over time.
Boeing recorded a $283 million cost on the programme in the quarter and stated that it anticipated the 787 programme to incur abnormal costs of approximately $2 billion. Much of these losses will occur by the end of 2023.
Production-related issues forced Boeing to halt 787 deliveries in May 2021. The continued delays in resuming deliveries resulted in the airframer taking a $ 3.5 billion pre-tax non-cash charge on the 787 programme in its Q42021 results. Boeing is thought to have over 100 787 aircraft in its inventory yet to be delivered to airlines.
Order Book
Boeing had announced more than 200 airplane orders and commitments at the recently concluded Farnborough International Airshow, which included orders for the 787, amongst other Boeing jetliners. AerCap placed an order for five 787-9s. The order from the aircraft lessor took its orderbook for the 787 to 125 aircraft. Azerbaijan Airlines also inked a Memorandum of Understanding at the show for four additional 787-8s. These aircraft will join two 787-8s already operating with the airline.
Importantly for Boeing, it also bagged orders for the 737 MAX at the airshow, securing, amongst others, a major order from US carrier Delta Airlines for 100 737-10 aircraft along with options for 30 more at the show. Boeing is working towards final FAA certification for the 737-10, the largest model in the MAX family. Entry into service is planned for 2023 for the aircraft, which Boeing states can cover 99% of thttps://www.mobilityoutlook.com/news/american-airlines-orders-supersonic-aircraft/he world's single-aisle routes. The 737-10 can seat up to 230 passengers. Delta is to take deliveries of all aircraft on order from 2025. Delta’s 737-10 orders will grow the size of its 737 family to more than 300 aircraft by the decade's end. Qatar Airways also finalised an order at the show for 25 737-10s.
Boeing also received orders and commitments from 777 Partners, a US private investment firm, for up to 66 737 MAX jets. This included a firm order for 30 high-capacity 737-8-200s, which can seat more than 200 passengers. An order for 12 more 737-8s was received at the show from aircraft lessor Aviation Capital Group LLC. The global 737 MAX fleet has safely flown more than 1.5 million flight hours with greater than 99% schedule reliability since the ungrounding.