Over the last couple of months the number of 787s delivered from Boeing's North Charleston facility has shrunk compared to previous months and the effect has been an increasingly crowded flightline. While I haven't pinned down the exact cause or causes for the delay in deliveries, it is curious that Boeing's Everett facility doesn't seem to be hampered when it comes to delivering 787s to customers. That's not to say that there is something definitively wrong in North Charleston but the low number of deliveries from that campus is concerning. There are currently about 16 787s at various stages of completion and testing along with 8 more that are in various stages of final assembly.
Already I have heard that there are seat supply issues but it may be more than that or engine issues with Rolls Royce Trent 1000 powerplants. Boeing has been having supply chain issues and it's not just the 787 program but the other major commercial aircraft programs (737 and 777) that are effected. This month I expect that Boeing will deliver 3 787 (same as last month) while rolling out 4 to 5 airplanes in August. One can easily see why the Charleston flightline has gotten very crowded in a short amount of time. Unless Charleston deliveries pick up very soon, Boeing may have to look for new and innovative ways to store undelivered 787.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
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#BeTrunp$
It might have something to do with the flight line employees recently voting to join the union. Boeing is challenging the legality of that vote, so the workers might be making things difficult.
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