Boeing had hoped to boost 787 production to five units per month, but this does not appear to be occurring anytime soon. According to Flightglobal, the aircraft manufacturer has put off plans to boost production until later this year.
Due to the slower-than-anticipated production ramp, Boeing has also incurred $600 million in “abnormal expenses” for the 787 program.
Boeing chief financial officer said “We will be under the five-per-month production rate a bit longer than expected due to a supply constraint that has temporarily slowed production.”
His comments coincided with Boeing’s release of its annual statistics for 2022. The firm’s losses were $5. 1 billion.
Still on target this 2023
West also maintains that Boeing is certain it will meet its target of delivering 70-80 787s in 2023, which was first announced in November of 2018. Those numbers would translate to between 5.8 and 6.7 787 deliveries per month on average in 2023.
Boeing has been trying to fix a production quality issue with the 787 program, which manifested itself as excessive gaps between the composite fuselage portions of the plane. In response to the issue, Boeing halted shipments for over two years.
After the FAA authorized the necessary repairs in August 2022, Boeing restarted 787 deliveries. The business built up a large inventory of unsold 787s during the delivery halt. At the end of 2021, it had 110 of the jets in store, but by the end of last year, West claims, it had reduced that number to 100.
Currently, the business is working with its suppliers to refurbish the 787s it has in stock.
In the latter three months of last year, Boeing recorded a “abnormal accounting” charge of $600 million related to the 787 program. According to West, the new cost increases the total anomalous production costs associated with the program to $2.8 billion.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
