Boeing warns 787 deliveries could slip
Boeing acknowledged Friday that it may not be able to deliver 787s as fast as hoped.
The company said it has told customers expecting the next 787 deliveries that those planes have either been delayed, or are at risk for a delay. Boeing is still building the long-range, fuel-efficient planes, and it reiterated that it has no plans to slow production.
The world's fleet of 50 787s has been grounded since Jan. 16, after a battery fire and a smoldering battery happened just days apart. Knowing the root cause could take weeks, investigators have said. Fixing it could take longer.
The 787 is the first commercial airliner to rely heavily on lithium-ion batteries. Each plane has two of the 63-pound blue power bricks, one near the front to provide power to the cockpit if the engines stop, and one near the back to start up the auxiliary power unit, which is essentially a backup generator.
The National Transportation Safety Board's detailed update on Thursday said the Jan. 7 fire on a recently-landed plane in Boston started when one of the battery's eight cells short-circuited, causing it to heat up. The heat in turn caused swelling in neighboring cells, and they short-circuited, too.
In about 30 days the board plans to issue an interim report on its investigation and post online all the test results and factual information gathered in its investigation, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman told reporters this week.
One of the big unknowns right now is whether Boeing will need to drop the lithium-ion batteries in favor of a battery more like that used on other planes. Boeing executives have said they don't intend to. The company said that its people are working around the clock to find the problem. On Thursday, Boeing won permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct limited test flights.
Boeing's stock is close to where it was before the Jan. 7 fire, falling 87 cents to close at $76.56 on Friday. But investors have been watching closely for updates. That's because Boeing has billions of dollars tied up in research on the 787, and billions more dollars in 787s parked in Everett, Wash. and other sites that are waiting to be delivered.
The focus on the battery's charging, design or manufacturing process seems to limit the risk of a larger problem "and is somewhat of a positive development for Boeing," Jefferies analyst Howard A. Rubel wrote in a note on Friday. "We believe the risk of a major re-design has declined."
Airlines have ordered 800 787s. Boeing builds five per month now, and wants to get to 10 by the end of this year. Airline customers expecting deliveries this year include Hainan Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Thomson Airways, and Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Norwegian Air Shuttle confirmed that Boeing has indicated its delivery could be delayed. The Oslo-based budget airline's spokesman, Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen, said that delivery of the planes, scheduled to be flying for the airline in May or June, might not be possible. He gave no reason for the delays.
Norwegian is one of Europe's fastest-growing airlines and had planned to begin its first long-haul flights to New York and Bangkok with 787s.
The company said it has told customers expecting the next 787 deliveries that those planes have either been delayed, or are at risk for a delay. Boeing is still building the long-range, fuel-efficient planes, and it reiterated that it has no plans to slow production.
The world's fleet of 50 787s has been grounded since Jan. 16, after a battery fire and a smoldering battery happened just days apart. Knowing the root cause could take weeks, investigators have said. Fixing it could take longer.
The 787 is the first commercial airliner to rely heavily on lithium-ion batteries. Each plane has two of the 63-pound blue power bricks, one near the front to provide power to the cockpit if the engines stop, and one near the back to start up the auxiliary power unit, which is essentially a backup generator.
The National Transportation Safety Board's detailed update on Thursday said the Jan. 7 fire on a recently-landed plane in Boston started when one of the battery's eight cells short-circuited, causing it to heat up. The heat in turn caused swelling in neighboring cells, and they short-circuited, too.
In about 30 days the board plans to issue an interim report on its investigation and post online all the test results and factual information gathered in its investigation, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman told reporters this week.
One of the big unknowns right now is whether Boeing will need to drop the lithium-ion batteries in favor of a battery more like that used on other planes. Boeing executives have said they don't intend to. The company said that its people are working around the clock to find the problem. On Thursday, Boeing won permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct limited test flights.
Boeing's stock is close to where it was before the Jan. 7 fire, falling 87 cents to close at $76.56 on Friday. But investors have been watching closely for updates. That's because Boeing has billions of dollars tied up in research on the 787, and billions more dollars in 787s parked in Everett, Wash. and other sites that are waiting to be delivered.
The focus on the battery's charging, design or manufacturing process seems to limit the risk of a larger problem "and is somewhat of a positive development for Boeing," Jefferies analyst Howard A. Rubel wrote in a note on Friday. "We believe the risk of a major re-design has declined."
Airlines have ordered 800 787s. Boeing builds five per month now, and wants to get to 10 by the end of this year. Airline customers expecting deliveries this year include Hainan Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Thomson Airways, and Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Norwegian Air Shuttle confirmed that Boeing has indicated its delivery could be delayed. The Oslo-based budget airline's spokesman, Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen, said that delivery of the planes, scheduled to be flying for the airline in May or June, might not be possible. He gave no reason for the delays.
Norwegian is one of Europe's fastest-growing airlines and had planned to begin its first long-haul flights to New York and Bangkok with 787s.
Citizen#345..........Who built your car, printer, computer, cell phone, TV, light bulbs, etc.? We have a âworld economyâ. Donât blame âoutsourcingâ unless you only buy US. The engineers who are thinking of going on strike specified these batteries. Yes union labor was the root cause here, but donât pass over the upper management who approved this choice. The VP of engineering needs to go. Just donât blame âoutsourcingâ unless you donât participate.  Â
 @oldster70 No........the top guy McNerney should resign immediately !
Look at the Japanese style.....top man always go if he fails the company.
The pitfalls of outsourcing writ large, very large.Â
What is the cause for the mass stupidity outbreak at Boeing? You have basically thrown away #1 to Germany, and now you are trying to throw away #2 to Russia or China? Is the air in Chicago really that bad?  Get rid of those Lithium Ion batteries and get those planes back in the air with a reasonable expectation that they will not give you another black eye for many years. Donât you realize that the major byproduct of gambling is losers?Â
Last one out of Everett, turn off the lights!
Gee, anudder copy and paste story from KOMO about the 787, imagine that.....what happened to that investigative reporter? Perhaps he was just an 8th grader doing a journalistic project....it would explain much.
Duh.
Will Boeing be excused from paying a late deliver penalty on all these delayed airplanes if there is a SPEEA union strike? Could a strike possibly favor Boeing financially?
 @Rick4001CS Wow, great analysis, Rick. That is exactly why the company forces their own employees out on strike any time they are busy since the '60s. It would be funny if one of the bargaining units proposed a fake draconian "take away deal" before the company could and then watch Boeing squirm while still trying to force it's own employees out. They'd be down to trying to force an act of God.
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I just hope they are more forthright with their customers then they are with their employees and the families of those employees.