It hasn’t always been smooth flying for the Boeing 78 Dreamliner. Deliveries have been suspended at times for more than a year because there are gaps, no wider than a piece of paper, at fuselage barrel joins, while other problems with quality control involving electrical systems and windscreens have recently emerged. Boeing’s North Charleston, South Carolina plant has been singled out for maintaining production standards, forcing the Chicago-based airframer to rectify Palmetto State problems at other facilities in Victorville, California, San Antonio in Texas and Everett, Washington. Teething troubles could be forgiven, but this is an 18-year-old programme. During 2020, delivery numbers dropped to 2013 levels as just 53
Dreamliners departed the North Charleston and Everett final assembly lines. As Airliner World went to press, a mere 14 787s had been handed to airlines in 2021. Around 100 787s are in storage awaiting rework, inspection and delivery, impacting Boeing’s cash flow to the tune of billions. Once these undelivered airframes are a year late, airlines can exercise cancellation clauses, though thankfully for Boeing, very few do.