Boeing confirms 787 delivery to United Airlines

This morning Boeing confirmed that they had indeed delivered the first 787 to United airlines.  United is the first US-based airline to operate the Dreamliner.  It was delivered from Everett and was taken on a flight to Moses Lake and then flew to Boeing Field.  It is not known when it will be flown to Houston.  United is the 6th global airline to receive the 787 and will be placed into domestic service starting in November before rolling out to international service around the December/January time frame. United will take delivery of one more 787 in October, 2 in November and one more in December.  Through today, September 24, 2012, Boeing has delivered 23 787 and 20 of them have delivered this year.

Here's Boeing Statement:

Boeing Delivers United Airlines' First 787 Dreamliner

- United is the first North American carrier to fly the 787

- Dreamliner opens new routes for United

EVERETT, Wash., Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and United Airlines announced today the delivery of the airline's first 787 Dreamliner. United is the first airline in North America to take delivery of the 787.
Jeff Smisek, president and CEO of United, said, "As the North American launch customer, we are delighted to be getting our first 787 Dreamliner. As we continue to build the world's leading airline, we are excited for our customers and co-workers to experience this game-changing aircraft."
United has announced it will initially use the 787 on international routes to Africa, Asia and Europe. The airline will conduct temporary domestic flights before transitioning its 787 fleet to international service in late 2012.
"This 787 delivery represents the continuation in the more than 80-year partnership between our two companies," said Ray Conner, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "United now begins a new chapter with the 787 Dreamliner, the most technologically advanced commercial jetliner ever built. It reinforces United's commitment to be the world's leading airline by providing unmatched fuel efficiency and passenger comfort."
Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes and will allow airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public. In addition to providing airlines with unprecedented fuel economy and low operating costs, the 787 features a host of new technologies that greatly enhance the passenger experience.
This delivery marks the first of 50 Dreamliners that United has on order. The airline's 787 cabin is configured with 36 seats in United BusinessFirst, 72 seats in United Economy Plus and 111 seats in United Economy. Customers will be more comfortable with improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems, among other features.
United's first Dreamliner is expected to arrive in Houston later this week to begin a month-long training and certification program including non-commercial flights to each of United's domestic hubs.

United's 1st 787 could be delivered very soon

UPDATE (9/23/12, 1:33PM EDT): For real this time, This popped up on Flightaware not too long ago: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL7708 this suggests that United took delivery but it's interesting to note that this is a test flight to Grant Co. where Boeing conducts a lot of test flights.

UPDATE (9/22/12, 12:55PM EDT): Now getting word that it's still in Seattle.  Trying to get a confirmation on departure.

UPDATE (9/22/12, 9:55AM EDT): Several sources are saying that ZA288 (LN 53, N20904) delivered yesterday, went to Boeign Field and this morning is flyingto Houston as UA 6864.  It doesn't show up on Flightaware.  Delivery ceremony might be taking place in Houston.

Right now a rumor but the first 787 for United is rumored to be ready for delivery and could be delivered anytime between now and the end of this weekend.  Noting solid yet but I'm watching Flightaware for movement.  Earlier today United's pilots took ZA288 (LN 53, N20904) for a spin around Washington State.  The aircraft is rumored to be ready for delivery and may go to Boeing Field either before or for the delivery ceremony.

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.

Updated 787 delivery information

Activity around Everett has increased in recent days as far as the 787 is concerned.  ZA100 (LN 7, JA803A) continues pre-delivery test flight, ZA262 (LN 49, ET-AOQ) performed a customer test flight and ZA118 (LN 67, JA813A) conducted its B-1 flight).  Even though August is almost one half over a posting on airliners.net says that there will be 7 Dreamliner deliveries made this month not including deliveries to Air India.  The delivery train starts this Monday (August 14th) with first delivery to Ethiopian of ZA262.  Less than a week later ZA100 will deliver to ANA on the 20th.Qatar Airways is scheduled to be the 4th carrier to take the 787 (ZA461) around August 22nd followed by LAN (ZA536) on August 27th.  ANA takes one on August 28th (ZA119). Both JAL (ZA182) and ANA (ZA118) take one each on August 30th.  Again this schedule is subject to change and many of these deliveries can move to a later date.  If this schedule holds then it would be the most 787s delivered by Boeing in one month and will add 3 new airlines flying the 787. 

It is possible that Air India could be added this month but they are having a very hard time arranging financing to pay for the jets that are ready for delivery and is reflective of their financial distress.  It is unknown if Boeing will penalize them for not taking delivery in a timely manner but Air India has been aware that these airplanes are ready for delivery but chose not to pursue financing until after they got approval to take delivery from the GoI.  This reinforces the view of many that this is a very poorly managed airline.  The Air India -787 saga continues, unfortunately.

September is also promising to be just as good as August was in terms of '87 deliveries with United and China Southern both taking their first airplanes.  All September deliveries are tentatively scheduled for the second half of September and kcks off with Ethiopian taking delivery of ZA264 (LN 71, ET-AOR) on Sept. 18th as well as United (ZA288, LN 53, N20904) also signing for its first 787 on the same day.  Two days later Japan Airlines will take its 6th 787 which is an early build Dreamliner, ZA178 (LN 27, JA824J).  ANA takes a 787 which is the first 787 to be rolled out without needing to go to the EMC.  ZA135 (LN 66, JA815A) should deliver around September 25th.  Qatar Airways will take its second 787, ZA463 (LN 64, A7-BCD) on September 27 but also delivering on that date will be the first '87 for China Southern.  This airplane is ZA382 (LN 43, B-2727). 

All together this is 13 787s that is scheduled to be delivered over the next 6 weeks and will take Boeing to 25 787 delivered in 2012 not including tentative deliveries to Air India if and when that happens.  By the end of September, if all goes according that what I laid out in this post, then there will be 7 customers flying the 787 by the end of the third quarter possibly 8 with Air India.

NTSB narrows down GEnx-1B engine issue to fan mid shaft fracture on Air India 787

In a press release issued today, the NTSB said that a fan mid shaft had fractured at the forward end of the shaft.  The NTSB is still trying to understand the root cause of the fracture which led to parts being ejected from the rear of the engine.  The cause can be either a manufacturing flaw in this particular engine or (and highly unlikely) a design flaw. 

Currently there are about 80 GEnx engines that are in service on both the 747-8 and the 787.  Boeing is going to deliver another GEnx powered 787 to Ethiopian Airlines on Monday and thus far there is no indication that those plans have been or are going to change.  This is the first time that there has been a failure of significance on the GEnx engine and given the operating (albeit short) history of the engine, there is no reason to believe that there is a safety risk of using the engine in commercial use at this point.  I believe Boeing will continue deliveries of the GEnx powered 787 going forward with deliveries this month to Qatar Airways, Ethiopian and Air India. Here is the test of the NTSB press release:

NTSB provides factual update on Boeing 787 engine failure in South Carolina

August 8, 2012

WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation of the July 28, 2012 contained engine failure that occurred on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner during a pre-delivery taxi test in Charleston, South Carolina. A contained engine failure is a specific engine design feature in which components might separate inside the engine but either remain within the engine's cases or exit the engine through the tail pipe. This design feature generally does not pose immediate safety risks.

Last week, the NTSB sent an investigator to the scene to gather information on the incident and subsequently launched a full investigation into the cause of the failure, led by NTSB Investigator-in-Charge, Mr. David Helson.

On August 1, 2012, a team of experts from the NTSB, FAA, Boeing and GE Aviation specializing in engine systems and metallurgy traveled to a GE facility in Cincinnati, OH to disassemble and examine the failed GEnx engine. GE is the manufacturer of the GEnx engine. The parties to the investigation have been extremely cooperative in assisting NTSB personnel in its review and assessment.

As a result of the investigative work to date, the NTSB has determined that a fan mid-shaft on the failed GEnx engine fractured at the forward end of the shaft, rear of the threads where the retaining nut is installed. The fan mid-shaft is undergoing several detailed examinations including dimensional and metallurgical inspections.

The GEnx engine is a newly designed aircraft engine. It is a "dual shaft" engine, meaning that one shaft connects the compressor spool at one end to the high pressure turbine spool at the other end. A longer "fan shaft" connects the fan and booster in the front of the engine to the low pressure turbine in the back.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, which is a combined unit on the 787 Dreamliner, was transported to the agency's Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC for processing and readout. Both recordings captured the event and analysis is ongoing.

Moving forward, investigators will continue the detailed examination of the engine and metallurgical analysis of its components. The investigators have also begun reviewing the engine manufacturing and assembly records.

This investigation is ongoing. The information released today is factual in nature and does not include any analysis. Additional factual information may be released as it is developed.

On a semi-related matter, MAtt Cawby got a picture of ZA288 (LN 53, N20904) for United Airlines at Everett's compass rose.  He says that first fligth of this airplane is imminent.

United's First 787 Rolls out of Paint Hangar and other 787 news

United's First 787 Rolls out of Paint Hangar, a photo by The Boeing Company on Flickr.

Boeing and United Airlines rolled out the first 787 (ZA288, LN 53, N20904) for United Airlines in a webcast early this morning. The aircraft is due to be delivered by the end of September and placed into service sometime in the fall flying domestic routes at first then expanding into international routes starting with Houston - Tokyo.

Today the NTSB said that they are investigating the GEnx engine incident along with Boeign and GE at GE's plant in Oho. The engine will be trucked there in the next few days where it will be disassembled to examine each part. Prelionarily, GE is saying that there is no safety issue but they will contiue to work with the NTSB to figure out what happened. Now there is now word on if ZA238 (LN 54, VT-ANJ) is to receive a new engine or not but Boeing did fly ZA461 (LN 58, A7-BCB) today without incident. It does look like that this icident is a one off issue as Boeing, GE and the FAA would have grounded all airplanes flying the GEnx engine which includes 20+ 747 and 4 787s.

Here's the test of the NTSB statement:

NTSB investigating Boeing 787 engine failure

July 31, 2012

WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an engine failure that occurred on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner during a taxi test in Charleston, South Carolina.

On Saturday, July 28, 2012, Boeing and General Electric, the engine manufacturer, notified the NTSB that a Boeing 787 experienced an engine failure during a pre-delivery taxi test. As a result of the failure, it has been reported that the engine left debris on the active runway at Charleston International Airport and caused a brush fire. There were no passengers aboard the aircraft nor were there any fatalities or injuries.

Upon the notification of the incident, the NTSB sent an aviation investigator with extensive expertise in aircraft powerplants, to the scene on Sunday to gather information to better understand the circumstances of the event.

As a result, the NTSB decided to conduct an investigation and has named David Helson as the Investigator in Charge. In the next few days, an NTSB aircraft powerplants expert and a metallurgist from the NTSB Materials Lab will travel to a General Electric facility in Cincinnati, OH, to lead and coordinate the disassembly and examination of the engine in question.

The Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are parties to the investigation.

787 work continues despite GEnx engine issue

Work continued apace at both Everett and Boeing Charleston on the 787s that still need to be delivered.  In fact the number of planes that are in pre-flight is steadily increasing at Everett as in the number of airplanes that are entering change incorporation.
Tomorrow United Airlines will unveil it's first 787 as it is being rolled out of Boeing's paint hangar.  The rollout can be viewed by clicking here.  The roll out of ZA288 (LN 53, N27904) is to start at 8:30AM EST, 5:30AM PST. While United is unveiling it's newest addition this airplane won't actually be delivered for another 6 to 8 weeks.  It will join a gaggle of pre-flight 787s that are on the Everett ramp. 

Another JAL 787 just finished change incorporation (ZA178, LN 27) is currently in the paint hangar and most likely will be delivered sometime next month.  The number of 787s that are in change incorporation have also increased.  There are 4 Dreamliners in 40-24 for change incorporation and EMC has a full complement of 5 airplanes with another 4 outside of the hangar that are also being worked on. 

Boeing is still maintaining 35 - 42 787s to be delivered this year but it certainly looks like they have the ability to deliver more.  The long pole in the tent is issues like what cropped up with both engines (Trent 1000 and GEnx-1B) over the last few days with the GE being the most serious of the issues.  However, I do not anticipate that these events are going to be show stoppers in terms of continued delivery and safe operation of the airplanes that are or will be in service. 

Most of the noise is due to the media making it out to be more of a bigger deal just because of the history of the 787.  Scott Hamilton has put out a post where he believes that the GEnx engine problem on Saturday is a non-issue.  The NTSB is investigating and the engine which shed the parts will be torn down to discover what the problem may be.  Given that the GEnx engine is flying on both the 787 and 747 and hasn't experienced an issue thus far in revenue service of either of those airplanes.  It is too early to say if this issue will delay any 787 deliveries but GEnx powered 787s were flying today with one more flight scrapped before take off at Everett. In my opinion 787s will continued to be delivered this month.

Trent 1000 gear box issue holding up deliveries: Aviation Week

According to an article by Guy Norris in Aviation Week, the gear box issue is holding up deliveries of the Trent 1000 powered aircraft as Boeing needs replacement gear boxes from Hamilton Sundstrand.  There are numerous 787s on the Boeing flightline waiting to be delivered.  Of the 9 airplanes that I have listed as in final preps for delivery at Everett, 5 are equipped with the Trent 1000 engine.  According to Guy Norris' report, 17 Trents in total are affected by the gear box issue of which nine are on undelivered 787s that are earmarked for ANA.  Boeing and Rolls Royce are waiting for replacement gear boxes from Hamilton Sundstrand.  Of the other 4 787s at Everett/Ft. Worth that are waiting to be delivered, one is in paint (ZA262), one for JAL (ZA182) just emerge from the paint hangar and will robably start pre-flight work soon, the one for Qatar Airways is still finishing up interior IFE work (ZA461) and another 787 that just appeared at the Boeing fuel dock, looks to be United Airlines first 787 (ZA288) and still has to go through painting before moving on the pre-flight.  All these are equipped with the GEnx engines. 

So it appears the bottleneck may be with the gear box issue with the Trent 1000 engines as each of the 5 Trent 1000 aircraft are all at different point in the pre-flight timeline. Each aircraft has to wait it turn while the aircraft that is further along must clear each pre-flight milestone before the B-1 flight.

In the meantime, the Trent 1000 gear box issue is likely a minor problem that affects a very small portion of the 787s in service but it's an issue that has attracted significant attention because it is the 787.

Lastly, LAN says it is expected to take delivery of its first 787 (ZA536) in late August or early September.

More 787s coming out the door - June 22, 2012

Boeing is really on a roll in terms of getting 787s outthe door and prepared for delivery.  Tonight ZA536 (LN 68) will pushed out the door and parked on the 40-51 ramp to finish off minor assembly tasks before moving on to the paint hangar and then on to pre-flight.  This airplane will be the first one for LAN.   I'm not sure if the other airframes on the apron will be moved to make room for the third airplane.  Additionally, ZA262 (LN 49) for Ethiopian was moved from the Everett Modification Center to the Fuel Dock.  I suspect it will go through paint and fueling tests before moving out to flightline for pre-flight in the next couple of weeks.  Word is that we should see the first flight of Qatar's first 787, ZA461 (LN 59, A7-BCB) this Sunday but that is the rumor for now and nothing concrete as of yet.  Lastly, United Airlines confirmed that it will be receiving its first 787 in September.  More than likely this will be ZA288 (LN 53, N27904).  This aircraft is still in the EMC being prepared for delivery but recently had its GEnx engines attached.

Good news for the 787

The last week or so has provided some welcomed good news for the 787s. First was Boeing's announcement that they had increased the production rate to 3.5 aircraft per month. This was sooner than planned as Boeing had expected that the rate would be increased later this sprig. Boeing is still planning to be at 5/month by the end of this year though if the supply chain continues to show this sort of improvement then it may be sooner. This is a very, very good sign for the program.

The second bit of good news came out today when Boeing announced that they had completed the certification test program for the 787 with the end of the certification program for the GEnx-1B powered version of the Dreamliner. ZA236 (LN 35, VT-ANH) had completed the final bit of F&R and ETOPs testing late last month and flew back to Everett. Boeing had also completed all the final ground tests that they needs to perform. I anticipate that Boeing should receive final type certification for the GEnx powered 787 in the next 1 to 2 weeks. This should still give the company time to deliver the first GE powered Dreamliner to Japan Airlines by March 31st. In fact ZA236 which just completed the certification test flights is back out on the flightline at Everett but painted in Air India colors this time indicating that this aircraft might soon be delivered soon.

Currently, information that I received a bout two weeks ago shows that Boeing has planned to deliver three 787s this month. They are:

ZA117 (LN 40, JA806A) on March 16 for ANA
ZA177 (LN 23, JA822J) on March 31 for JAL
ZA179 (LN 33, JA825J) on March 31 for JAL

In addition Boeing is not planning any B1 flights for any 787. The three aforementioned 787s have all had their B1 flights though they have yet to fly any subsequent pre-delivery flights. IT does seem that the shim issue has slowed down the pace of pulling out the prepared 787s to the flightline to begin the pre-delivery process. The other unknown is if ZA236 will be delivered this month. A lot of that will depend on if the airplane is ready and if Boeing and Air India have concluded negotiations on compensation for the 787 delays.

Lastly, now that the build rate has gone up in Everett, Boeing will still need to park those new 787s around Everett. Boeing has started parking 787s on the Kilo 6 (K6) taxiway at Everett. This taxiway is in the southwest part of the airport near the Flying Heritage Museum. The first one to be parked there was ZA288 (LN 53) for United Airlines. Space is becoming a premium at Everett and the pace of 747 and 787 deliveries has slowed. April will be critical as the 787s that are built at the newer rate will be pushed out the door and that means even more 787 on the Everett ramp unless Boeing starts to deliver those that are in re-work during April. As added pressure, Boeing is also upping the 747 rate to 2/month later this year.