Boeing is quietly telling airline customers and suppliers that it now expects to resume
deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners in the second half of this year.
While it's ultimately up to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to clear the way for
deliveries to restart, inside sources say Boeing is confident that will happen later
this year.
A Reuters report is citing quote "three people familiar with the matter."
These sources say that Boeing expects the deliveries to restart this year, with one
of those sources saying a third-quarter restart date was "realistic."
Boeing had hoped to restart Dreamliner deliveries before then.
Earlier this year, as part of its coverage, Simple Flying reported that Boeing planned
to start delivering two Dreamliners a month from sometime this month, building to four
by the end of the year and seven deliveries a month by the end of 2023.
But all that hung on the FAA green lighting any planned restart date - which they haven't
done so far.
The US aviation agency has been reviewing Dreamliner production flaws.
In February, the FAA banned Boeing from self-certifying the Dreamliner, saying they would perform
final inspections on the 787 Dreamliners themselves.
Deliveries of Boeing's Dreamliners stopped in May 2021 after the FAA raised concerns
about Boeing's proposed inspection method, and after they issued several airworthiness
directives to address production issues for Dreamliners already delivered.
Boeing has more than 100 Dreamliners already made that the FAA is carefully inspecting.
The delays are a big problem for Boeing.
Not only is it damaging Boeing's reputation, but it is also costing Boeing a lot of money.
The plane builder has previously confirmed a $4.5 billion USD charge across the fourth
quarter of 2021 in relation to the delivery delays.
They've also said the low production rates and rework resulting from the 787 manufacturing
flaws and required inspections and repairs will likely cost them a further $1 billion
in abnormal costs.
Also causing Boeing problems is a risk-averse FAA.
Both Boeing and the FAA were badly burned by the flawed 737 MAX certification process
that was unmasked in an investigation following the two catastrophic MAX crashes.
The FAA doesn't want a repeat of that, and that is a factor slowing progress regarding
the 787 inspections and sign-offs.
Another Boeing problem is its failure to meet pre-announced delivery restart dates, which
undermines its credibility.
Boeing has since stopped publicly setting delivery restart dates.
But it seems unable to stop leaks such as the one we’re discussing today.
However, after so many failed restart dates, even Reuters' sources warn that Boeing's timelines
cannot be relied upon.
"As we've said, we are taking the time needed to ensure conformance to our exacting specifications,"
says Boeing, while the FAA advises safety dictates the restart timelines.
Meanwhile, even if Boeing can resume Dreamliner deliveries to its long-suffering airline customers
later this year, getting the various parts and supplies required to North Charleston
in South Carolina where the 787 is built is another challenge.
The 787 has more than two million parts, many of which come from suppliers located around
the globe.
But ongoing snarls in global supply chains mean some suppliers may face problems getting
their components to South Carolina at the required time.
When was the last time you flew on a 787?
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