Boeing up to 22 787 deliveries in 2012 more to follow

Boeing has delivered it 25 787 overall and 22nd of this year.  Boeing has also surpassed the most deliveries for one month and is now up to 6 787s delivered this month with the potential for 3 to 4 more by the end of this week.  ZA178, (LN 27, JA824J) was delivered yesterday afternoon and I believe it should fly away tonight.  There aren't any deliveries planned for today but I do believe we can see the first Charleston built 787 delivered this week to Air India, ZA237 (LN 46, VT-ANI) as well as one more to ANA, ZA135 (LN 66, JA815A) and one more to Ethiopian ZA263 (LN 71, ET-AOR).  It is possible for Qatar first 787, ZA461 (LN 58, A7-BCB) to be delivered but there is still no word on this. If all four aforementioned aircraft are delivered then Boeing would have achieved 10 deliveries in one month and would have delivered 29 787s to 7 customers.  The 2012 total would be 26 and they would need to deliver 8 airplanes per month over the next quarter to achieve 50 787 deliveries.. a doable but challenging task.

Qatar Airways 787 delivery delayed due to IFE, internet connectivity issues

The expected delivery of Qatar Airways' first 787 is being delayed because of issues with the IFE and specifically the Internet connectivity that the airline is equipping on its 787 fleet.  They continue to test the aircraft even as far as flying it to Yuma Arizona on Sept. 20th and back.  The Qatar Airways' delivery team from Doha is in Seattle right now so there must be hope that the issues would be resolved soon.  No date has been set for delivery at this time.  In related news, Strategic Aero has an interesting article about 777X and Qatar pushing Boeing to offer the aircraft for sale.

Boeing does continue to fly several Dreamliners that are slated for delivery soon including those for United, ANA (2), JAL and Ethiopian.  These airplanes maybe delivered this week into next week and it is rumored that United pilots took out the 1st 787 for it's final customer test flight today prior to delivery.  It does seem that Boeing is making a big push to get many of the 787s out the door as possible before the end of the month (and end of quarter).  Here are the planes that I see possibly being delivered in the last 10 days of September:

Air India
ZA237 (LN 46, VT-ANI)

ANA
ZA135 (LN 66, JA815A)
ZA119 (LN 69, JA814A)

JAL
ZA178 (LN 27, JA824J)

Ethiopian
ZA263 (LN 71, ET-AOR)

United Airlines
ZA288 (LN 53, N20904)

Qatar Airways (tentative)
ZA461 (LN 58, A7-BCB)

If Boeing can get these seven airplanes delivered (they're very close) then they would have delivered 10 787s this month.

Boeing continues to fly GEnx engines on 787 and 747

Boeing, after having performed the necessary ultrasound inspections on the GEnx engines on the airplanes they have in pre-flight, flew three GE engined aircraft today (out of 4 airplanes).  This does give some reassurance that deliveries of these airplanes (a least to specific customers) are moving forward.  Again I don't expect Air India to take any more airplanes until at least the NTSB, GE and Boeing discover the root cause of the crack in the Fan Midshaft and implement corrective actions and/or a re-design.  There would be considerable amount time added as the fan midshaft of the these engines will all have to be replaced once the root cause and a solution is found.  Today ZA263 and ZA264 both for Ethiopian flew test flights.  Both these flights were the B-2 flights though ZA264 still has to be painted and will probably be painted in Ft. Worth.

787 flight test activity picks up speed

UPDATE: ZA263 (LN 71, ET-AOR) and ZA238 (LN 54, VT-ANJ) both made their first flights today (9/12/12)

During the past few day, flight test activity at Everett has picked up with 787s destined for ANA, JAL and United all taking to the air to continue Boeing/customer test flights. This is being done with eyeing deliveries of these airplanes later this month.

Additionally re-work activity looks to be increasing as two more 787s, one for Qatar and one for ANA have just moved into the paint hangar, signalling their readiness to start the pre-flight program.  There are now 6 787s outside of the EMC hangar that are in various phases of re-work with another 5 aircraft inside the hangar.  Among these 11 airplanes at the EMC include 4 airplanes for United Airlines.  All assembled 787s are now out of the 40-24 surge line and are either parked outside or are at the EMC.

Speaking of production, interestingly the last two positions in 40-26 are unoccupied while there is only the one position in the 40-24 surge line occupied (position 1).  The next 787 won't be loaded into position 1 in 40-26 until Sept. 17th...next Monday.  I'm not sure of the reason but it might be due to a short break before Boeing starts production at the higher rate of 5/month during September.  They also may want to ease the bottleneck on the flightline with many of the positions already full with 787s waiting to be delivered.

Lastly, the first 787 for Hainan Airlines finally broke cover and is now at the Everett fuel dock.  No doubt it is waiting for a spot to open up which should happen in the next few days.

Looking at the 787 production and disposition chart, Boeing strategy is obvious.  Get the late build 787s out the door and into customer hands while at the same time assembly and delivering post LN 65 airplanes thus increasing the delivery rate.  As time goes on deliveries should hold steady as the increase in the production rate from 3.5 to 10 offsets the decrease in the number of 787 airframes that need change incorporation and pre LN 65 airplanes are delivered with increasing frequency in the next 12 to 18 months. There are about 18 787s that are still in storage around Everett but that is quite an improvement as many airplanes are going through change incorporation or are in various stages of pre-flight or Boeing/customer pre-delivery test flights.

However, the key to this strategy is clearing the bottleneck of airplanes that are complete and ready to be delivered both in Everett and at Charleston.  So far two have been delivered this month but at least 5 more should be delivered this month possibly reaching as high as 8 more including 787s for Air India at Charleston.  Another question mark is deliveries to Qatar Airways which seemed stalled.  There has not been a test flight of any of the 2 787s for Qatar recently though a 3rd one is now in paint.  There could be slippage of this into October.

787 deliveries on tap for the last week of August

Today, according to sources, Boeing may have made a contractual delivery of Air India's first 787.  ZA236 (LN 35, VT-ANH) was seen at the Boeing Charleston Delivery Center today and a source did say that the aircraft may be delivering today (contractually). The contractual delivery date is the date that the paperwork is signed and the final delivery payment is made to Boeing by the customer. When asked if this was the case, Boeing spokesperson, Candy Eslinger, replied: "The Air India delivery team is in South Carolina for the delivery scheduled next week."  This is confirmation that Boeing will be delivering at least one if not two 787s to Air India this month.  I have heard that ZA236 would deliver on Aug. 27 (ceremonial delivery perhaps) and fly away that afternoon/evening for New Delhi.  For now there isn't any confirmation about the contractual delivery being made though I suspect that this event may have taken place today (Aug. 24th). In addition to ZA236 being delivered this month, a source has told me that the following deliveries may take place during the next week.  Please take this information with a grain of salt as we have seen that some may not materialize due to different circumstances.

ZA536 (LN 68, CC-BBA) to LAN on Aug. 27
ZA461 (LN 58, A7-BCB) to Qatar Airways on Aug. 30
ZA118 (LN 67, JA813A) to ANA on Aug. 30
ZA182 (LN 70, JA828J) to Japan Airlines on Aug. 30 (this airplane has had only one test flight)
ZA233 (LN 29, VT-AND) to Air India on Aug. 31

Additionally ZA237 (LN 46, VT-ANI) is almost ready for delivery but doesn't have a delivery date as of yet.  It appears that Air India is trying to pick up one delivery ready 787 each week so it could be that ZA237 could deliver in September.  There are two other 787s for Air India both built at Charleston that have yet to take their B-1 flights so I anticipate that those deliveries may happen in late September but more likely in October.

There is also further information on September deliveries which, once again, should be taken with a grain of salt.

ZA119 (LN 69, JA814A) to ANA on Sept. 12
ZA263 (LN 71, ET-AOR) to Ethiopian on Sept. 18 (hasn't taken its B-1 yet)
ZA288 (LN 53, N20904) to United on Sept. 18
ZA178 (LN 27, JA824J) to Japan Airlines on Sept. 20 (hasn't taken its B-1 yet)
ZA463 (LN 64, A7-BCL) to Qatar Airways on Sept. 25 (hasn't taken its B-1 yet)
ZA135 (LN 66, JA815A) to ANA on Sept. 25 (hasn't taken its B-1 yet)
ZA382 (LN 43, B-2727) to China Southern on Sept. 27 (hasn't taken its B-1 yet)

All told the total number of deliveries in August and September may total 16, IF this scheduled is kept.

First SC built 787 to roll out at end of April, 787 production update

Boeing announced that the first 787 built in North Charleston will roll out of final assembly on April 27th. This aircraft, ZA237 (L/N46), is destined for Air India and should be delivered this summer. Even though it is rolling out it will probably go through a more extensive battery of ground and gauntlet testing as this is the first 787 built outside of Everett where most of the assembly technicians are new to building this aircraft. After gauntlet testing Boeing will conduct a B-1 test flight and then fly the aircraft to Texas where it will be painted. It will return to North Charleston to finish pre-delivery Boeing and customer test flights. I don't know if it already has the customer interior installed but that could happen just before painting but after flying the initial test flight. In case the test flight has uncovered any issues that need to be corrected, Boeing techs will probably want unrestricted access to any areas. Interior fittings like seats, galleys, and restrooms can get in the way.

Lastly, I updated the 787 production firing order with LN71-LN75. One slight change is that LN 63 which was going to be for Hainan Airlines is now going to ANA with Hainan now getting LN 73. I was able to get some information on where these particular airplanes will be built as well. These 5 frames are, for now, scheduled to go to Ethiopian (2 frames), Air India, Hainan, and LAN. Interesting no new first delivery frames in this lot.