Boeing schedules first Dreamliner delivery in 15 months
The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) will hand off its first 787 Dreamliner in 15 months this week, with official word from the Federal Aviation Administration that Boeing has met the requirements to restart deliveries.
American Airlines told the Business Journal in a statement it planned to take delivery of a 787-8 “as early as Wednesday Aug. 10” from Boeing’s production facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. That will bring American to 47 total Dreamliners in its fleet, with 42 more on Boeing’s order books.
“We appreciate the work done by the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing during the review process,” the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said.
Boeing declined to provide additional details on the timeline for further deliveries.
American CFO Derek Kerr said in a late July earnings call the company expects to take possession of two of the jets in August, which it plans to incorporate into its flight schedule in November. It expects to take delivery of another seven by the end of the year.
Lufthansa also predicted earlier this year that it would take delivery of the first of the 32 787-9 jets it has on order by the end of the summer, and United Airlines said in its second quarter update that it expects to receive five of the widebody jets in 2022.
Boeing CFO Brian West said in the company’s most recent earnings call it is readying airplanes for delivery and has completed flight checks on the first planes it plans to hand off.
FAA officials will continue to certify each plane individually as the manufacturing giant plans a gradual increase in production from two planes per month to five. It will also try to offload the bulk of the 120 of the planes it produced during the delivery halt by the end of next year.
Deliveries have been suspended since spring 2021, following several starts and stops throughout 2020 as Boeing worked to address defects in parts sent by suppliers and issues with materials like titanium and carbon fiber.
Around 100 Puget Sound-area manufacturers contribute to the Dreamliner line. The deliveries will help boost Boeing’s cash flow in the latter half of the year, since the handoffs are when the jet maker receives a majority of its revenue.
