The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared the first delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after a 15-month hiatus.
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) expects to receive the first delivery of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner, registered as N880BJ, on August 10, 2022, the carrier confirmed to AeroTime in a statement. The news first appeared in a Reuters report.
“Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards,” a spokesperson for the FAA told AeroTime in an emailed statement.
Despite the first delivery being cleared, Boeing is still awaiting approval from the FAA to restart remaining deliveries of the Dreamliner after they were halted in 2021 over manufacturing issues, the FAA explained.
“We expect deliveries to resume in the coming days,” the FAA added.
A production issue with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was first found in August 2020 after it appeared that the aft fuselage section of some 787s would not be able to withstand maximum stress, making it more prone to structural failure while in the air.
Another problem related to the tail fin of the aircraft was found in September 2020. Parts of the horizontal stabilizer were clamped together with greater force than they were designed to.
Boeing currently has a total of 476 unfilled Dreamliner orders, according to the manufacturer.
Several airlines, including American Airlines (A1G) (AAL), United Airlines, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA), Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, have long been waiting for the 787 deliveries to restart.
Due to prolonged delivery delays Boeing said it expects total one-off costs of approximately $2 billion due to the 787, with most set to be incurred by the end of 2023. It incurred costs of $283 million for the 787 in Q2 2022.
UPDATE 09-08-2022, 16:01 (UTC +3): Added a comment from the FAA and American Airlines (A1G) (AAL)