In a significant step forward for Boeing’s recovery, mechanics at the company’s Everett, Washington, facility have completed rework on the last of the 787 Dreamliner jets that had been in long-term storage due to fuselage join issues. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope announced the milestone, marking the conclusion of a painstaking and costly process that has spanned five years.
The End of a Long and Costly Chapter
The issue stemmed from paper-thin gaps at the fuselage joins that, while not a structural integrity risk, did not meet manufacturing specifications. This led to the grounding of 122 Dreamliners, requiring extensive disassembly and reassembly to ensure compliance with Boeing’s standards.
The rework process has been a major drain on Boeing’s resources, tying up hundreds of mechanics who would otherwise have been engaged in regular aircraft production. These rework operations, referred to as “shadow factories,” diverted critical manpower away from the company’s main assembly lines.
Chief Financial Officer Brian West stated in January that Boeing aimed to close out both the 787 and 737 Max rework projects this year, with the expectation of an immediate boost to profit margins. With the 787 rework now completed, Boeing is one step closer to that goal.
Workforce Redeployment and Ongoing Challenges
Now that the fuselage-gap rework has ended, many of the freed-up mechanics will be reassigned to support the 777 and 777X programs. “This is what we mean when we said we would shut down the ‘shadow factories’ and turn our full attention to building all-new airplanes,” Pope said in a LinkedIn post.
Despite this positive development, challenges persist in Boeing’s production system. A separate inventory of newly built, but unfinished, 787s in North Charleston, South Carolina, has been piling up due to parts shortages. The most critical issues involve still-uncertified business class seats and supply disruptions of a key heat exchanger in the jet’s environmental control system, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
At a recent industrial conference, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg noted “good progress” in sourcing alternative heat exchangers but acknowledged that seat supply remains a significant bottleneck.
Meanwhile, the newly available Everett mechanics may soon be tasked with reworking approximately 30 previously built 777X jets that have been sitting idle at Paine Field, some for as long as six years. These aircraft, manufactured ahead of the 777X’s prolonged flight test and certification process, will need to be updated before they can be delivered once the aircraft program is officially certified.
The Financial Toll of the 787 Rework
Boeing’s struggle with the 787 fuselage-gap issue has been both costly and disruptive. After the problem was first discovered in mid-2020—at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—the company was forced to halt Dreamliner deliveries multiple times.
Between November 2020 and August 2022, only 14 Dreamliners were delivered. Boeing has estimated that the entire rework process resulted in approximately $6.3 billion in abnormal costs.
By the end of 2023, only 25 Dreamliners requiring the fuselage-gap fixes remained. The last of these, a 787-10 originally built in December 2020, was rolled out last week. Interestingly, before undergoing its final rework, Boeing had used the jet in 2023 for long-distance test flights to destinations such as Tokyo, Singapore, and Bangkok as part of its ecoDemonstrator Explorer program, which researches ways to optimize flight paths and reduce carbon emissions.
Now, the aircraft is set to be repainted and delivered to its new customer, TAAG Angola Airlines.
What’s Next for Boeing?
Even with the fuselage gaps resolved, Boeing faces further delays in delivering these reworked Dreamliners. Many of the aircraft will now be taken by different airlines than their originally intended customers, requiring repainting and interior modifications. This could lead to further delays due to ongoing parts shortages.
Pope has indicated that Boeing will work with airlines to complete these deliveries “over the course of this year and next.”
While the completion of the 787 fuselage rework marks a significant milestone, Boeing still has work to do in stabilizing production and addressing broader supply chain challenges. Nevertheless, the company is now in a stronger position to focus on new aircraft production and recover from one of the most difficult periods in its recent history.
Comments are closed.