Boeing faces a new hurdle in delivering Dreamliners

The agency has long empowered Boeing to make final safety signatures on behalf of the FAA, allowing it to issue what is known as the certificates of airworthiness required to hand over the new aircraft to airlines. The FAA said it had retained the same authority on some of the planes in previous years to keep inspectors’ powers up to date.

Now, the FAA has said its move to retain final approval authority is part of a wider set of actions aimed at Boeing 787 production issues. A spokesman said the agency could decide for its own inspectors to sign more Dreamliners. “We can extend the detention to another 787 aircraft if we see the need,” he said.

A Boeing spokesman said Wednesday that the company has engaged the FAA throughout its efforts to resume Dreamliner deliveries and will follow the agency’s instructions for final approvals as it has done in the past. The spokesman said Boeing was “encouraged by the progress our team is making” in resuming deliveries.

Following a shutdown in October, Boeing built an inventory of more than 80 new, undifferentiated Dreamliners, according to airline Ascend by Cirium. Boeing said it expects to resume deliveries by the end of March.

Wide-body jets have an excellent safety record and are frequently used on international routes. Boeing learned of the FAA’s move in January and has already included FAA signatures in the expected delivery schedule, said a person familiar with Boeing’s planning.

Specific aircraft scheduled for final approval by the agency’s inspectors include two Dreamliner lines commissioned by United Airlines Holdings Inc.

United expects to receive the planes in late March or early April, a person familiar with the Chicago carrier’s plans said this week.

A Boeing spokesman said the manufacturer will adjust its delivery plans if necessary so that it can take the time to conduct comprehensive 787 inspections “to ensure that each meets our rigorous engineering specifications.”

The suspension of deliveries disrupted a significant source of cash paid by customers as the aircraft manufacturer navigated the Covid-19 pandemic and weak demand in global air travel. Bernstein analyst Doug Harned has estimated that slowing Dreamliner delivery could cost Boeing up to $ 8 billion in cash flow by 2020 and 2021. He expects half of that to be recovered next year, as airlines take delivery and will pay the rest of the cost.

Boeing said in January that it would likely continue to burn cash this year, but has adequate liquidity after raising billions of dollars in debt last year. Investor optimism about a broader travel recovery helped lift its shares by 21% last week. The stock gained another 3.3% on Wednesday, valuing Boeing at $ 149 billion.

Although limited in scope, the FAA’s move on the Dreamliner is similar to a step the agency took after two Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

The FAA removed Boeing’s authority to conduct pre-delivery safety checks on MAX aircraft at the end of 2019. At the time, a defective flight control system and production steps with that aircraft were under congressional and regulatory control. . The FAA approved 737 MAXs to resume passenger flights last year.

The decline of the Dreamliner is one of several quality issues Boeing has faced in recent years in its commercial, defense and space programs.

Many of the 787’s quality deficiencies involve small gaps in which sections of the jet’s fuselage or aircraft body join. Problems have arisen elsewhere, including vertical fins and the horizontal tail stabilizer, according to a March 12 FAA summary of the agency’s regulatory actions viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Boeing has previously revealed problems with a factory process used to generate small backs – materials used to fill small gaps in which sections of the aircraft are joined together. Such gaps could lead to possible premature fatigue of certain parts of the aircraft, which may require extensive repairs during routine and long-term maintenance.

In its summary, the agency said it would maintain its Dreamliner approval authority “until all resistance issues were confirmed and the aircraft complied with the FAA-approved project.”

Write to Andrew Tangel to [email protected]