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March was a busy month for the 787 program in more ways than one.
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| Singapore's 1 787-10 9V-SCA. Photo by Mike Cassidy (with H/T) |
First, Boeing delivered the 1st 787-10 to launch customer Singapore Airlines in an elaborate delivery ceremony that took place on March 24th. The aircraft was contractually delivered on March 14th but Singapore kept it in Charleston for 10 days to conduct training flights in the area until the delivery ceremony and flyaway this past week.
Second, Boeing delivered 15 787s in March, the largest number of deliveries of 787 since December 2014 when Boeing delivered 18 aircraft. Of the 15 delivered, Boeing turned over 14 x 787-9s and 1 787-10. The manufacturer now has delivered a total of 670 787 (350 x 787-8, 319 x 787-9 and 1 x 787-10). For the first quarter, 2018 Boeing delivered 34 787s (33 x 787-9, 1 x 787-10).
Besides the delivery to Singapore, the other notable deliveries in March include:
El Al's first direct purchase 787-9 (they've been receiving 787s on lease).
Virgin Atlantic's penultimate 787-9 with their 17th and last aircraft in flight tests to be delivered next month.
Xiamen's last 2 787-9s on order thus completing their order for 6 787-9s.
LOT Polish Airlines 1st 787-9 leased from Aviation Capital Group.
British Airways' penultimate 787-9.
On the production side, Boeing was also very busy as they started final assembly on 14 787s while rolling out 13 aircraft. Of those airplanes, Boeing assembled 6 787s within the month of March. Boeing delivered more airplanes than they rolled out in March thus reducing the crowded flightlines at Charleston and Everett.
On the sales side, it appears that American Airlines is close to placing a large 787 order with Boeing after Airbus walked away from American's widebody competition. American has been looking to get out of the A350 order that merger partner US Airways had placed and which the carrier inherited after the two airlines combined. American made known their desire not to have a sub-fleet of aircraft in their inventory. Boeing pushed the 787 while Airbus pushed the A330NEO. American has the A330CEO (also inherited from US Airways). Airbus indicated that they could not beat Boeing on price that was being offered for the 787 and thus walked away. It remains to be seen which version of the 787 American will order but rumors pointed to the 787-8 and 787-9. American holds 58 options thus I see them exercising a good chunk of those options and cancelling the A350 order which will incur a forfeiture of the deposit that was paid to Airbus. I believe that Boeing probably offered to pay American the deposit in the form of services and spare parts for the 787 though I don't have any solid information on this. It would be in keeping with other Boeing's sales practices from other campaigns. With a little bit more than three months to go until Farnborough 2018, I expect Boeing to be finalizing a few 787 deals over the three months including Emirates' mega deal for the 787.
Lastly, I want to thank Mike Cassidy for allowing me to use his gorgeous photos of the Singapore 787-10 that he took at Charleston. Give him a follow on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/58762386@N08/with/39728338785/
Here are a couple more examples of his work:
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| Photo by Mike Cassidy |
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| Photo by Mike Cassidy |
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