Why did Boeing stop 787 deliveries?

Boeing stops deliveries of 787 passenger jet to further analyze fuselage component Boeing has again stopped deliveries of its 787 passenger jet because of questions around a supplier's analysis of a part near the front of the plane, company and federal officials said Thursday.



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The latest announcement brings back memories of the delivery drought that affected Boeing's 787s not too long ago. Deliveries of the Boeing 787 were stopped by the FAA in May 2021 after production flaws surfaced and concerns over Boeing's inspection methods.

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The problem involves a fitting for the 787's horizontal stabilizer installed by a Boeing production facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company said. The horizontal stabilizer, located at the base of an aircraft's tail, allows a plane to maintain longitudinal balance while flying.

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The 787's latest problem mirrors production issues discovered over 2020 and 2021 that included improperly fitted shimming that led to paper-thin gaps between surfaces on the Dreamliner's fuselage.

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The Dreamliner is a successful aircraft, still in production with more than 1600 delivered or on order. The list price for a new Boeing 787-8 is $239 million dollars. Yet even as international travel opens again for these long-range aircraft, two Dreamliners barely ten years old are waiting for the wrecker's ball.

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Boeing stopped 787 deliveries at multiple points during that period, resuming them last August after agreeing to an FAA-approved modification plan for Dreamliners in the company's inventory.

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The typical lifespan of airliners The composite-driven Boeing 787 Dreamliner is designed for 44,000 flight cycles. These jets can theoretically last several decades with an average of two flight cycles a day. Unlike commercial airliners, fighter jets are unique due to their mission requirements.

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The Boeing 787 is one of the newest planes to come into passenger service. First delivered in 2011, the aircraft has become a favorite for airlines thanks to its extensive range and fuel efficiency. And, for passengers, the travel experience was much better compared to older aircraft.

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What was the 787 meant to replace? At launch, Boeing targeted the 787 with 20% less fuel burn than replaced aircraft like the Boeing 767, carrying 200 to 300 passengers on point-to-point routes up to 8,500 nautical miles [nmi] (15,700 km; 9,800 mi), a shift from hub-and-spoke travel.

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While the rework of the fuselage flaws was occurring over the last year, Boeing lowered the 787 program's production rate to below five per month. The company reported 120 total undelivered 787 Dreamliners sitting in inventory during their July 27 second quarter 2022 earnings.

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There were 865 Boeing 787 aircraft in airline service as of November 2022, comprising 353 787-8s, 477 787-9s and 35 787-10s.

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On January 17th, 2013, the FAA ordered the entire 787 fleet across all airlines to be grounded, and the NTSB launched an investigation. The culprit was eventually identified as a lithium-ion battery. A cell within the battery was believed to have short-circuited, causing what is known as a thermal runaway.

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The A350-900 has a 665 nautical mile advantage in range, while the 787-9 has a lighter maximum take-off weight by 62,408 pounds. The A350-900 offers more seating in a typical configuration, which we would expect to result in a lower seat-mile cost.

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The Boeing 777 series is larger than the 787 and thus can carry more passengers. The 787-10 has a higher capacity than the smaller 777-200 series. However, it falls short of the larger 777-300 models by 66 passengers in a typical two-class configuration. Of course, the exact capacity varies from airline to airline.

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Aviation. Yes, it's extramly safe and an excellent ride for the passengers and crew. Because of its composite fuselage, Boeing was able to pressurize the cabin to maintain an altitude of 6,000 ft.

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Both planes are under 10 years old, as they were delivered in June and August 2013. Except for a testbed scrapped by Boeing in 2018, these are the first Dreamliners to be retired, and their disassembly, which began in early March, is taking place at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow, Scotland.

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The oldest plane in service is from Nolinor Aviation, a charter airline in Canada, that operates a Boeing 737 that first went into use in 1976. Despite its age, this plane still works like any newer one due to numerous updates throughout the years.

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The more-electric architecture of the 787 Dreamliner family eliminates the pneumatic and bleed-air system. The electric system improves efficiency by extracting only the power actually needed during each phase of flight.

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A five-year fatigue test simulated more than 160,000 take-offs and landings, more than the design life of 44,000 cycles, says a report in Aviation Week and Space Technology.

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Boeing resumes 787 deliveries but faces catch-up to meet 2023 delivery goal. Boeing's most recent Dreamliner delivery pause came to an end on 15 March when the airframer handed over a 787-9 to German carrier Lufthansa.

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This is quite probably the reason for the popularity of the mid-sized Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which offers its operators a very useful balance of both range and capacity. This mirrors the Boeing 737 MAX family, whereby the MAX 8 model (which is the second-largest of four variants) is by far the most popular version.

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