Boeing Dreamliner deliveries to resume in the ‘coming days,’ FAA says
Boeing will resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners in the coming days, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.
Deliveries of the wide-body jetliners have been suspended for much of the past two years as regulators and Boeing reviewed a series of manufacturing flaws.
The resumption of deliveries is long-awaited for Boeing and customers like American Airlines and United Airlines, which have gone without new Dreamliners just as travel demand surged this year. The twin-aisle planes are often used for long-haul international routes.
American could receive a new Dreamliner as early as Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The Dreamliners are a key source of cash for Boeing as the bulk of an aircraft’s price is paid when it’s handed over to customers, though the manufacturer had to compensate buyers for the extensive delays. The company earlier this year said 787 issues, including a drop in production, would cost it $5.5 billion.
“Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards,” the FAA said in a statement Monday. “The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.”
Boeing shares initially jumped on the news, rising more than 3% on the day, but ended Monday up 0.5%.
Boeing last month said it was near the finish line of resuming 787 deliveries, which CEO Dave Calhoun called “the moment we’ve been waiting for.” The company had 120 of the planes in inventory as of the end of last quarter, according to a securities filing.
FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen visited Boeing’s South Carolina 787 factory last Thursday and met with FAA safety inspectors about steps to improve production quality, the agency said.
Among the issues discovered was tiny, incorrect spacing in some parts of the fuselage.
“We continue to work transparently with the FAA and our customers towards resuming 787 deliveries,” Boeing said in a statement.
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