Only About a Year Late

Boeing has finally gotten FAA approval to restart deliveries of the 787.

Following the dual debacles of the 737 MAX and 787, the FAA did not allow Boeing to self certify its solution to the problems.

They still don't know how to make planes.

In fact torturous path to getting the plane out the door in the first place, where Boeing attempted to foist off most of the serious engineering and manufacturing onto, "Risk Sharing Partners," strongly implies that they aren't interested in making planes.

They have done their best to reduce everything to marketing and financial engineering, and not actual engineering:

Boeing Co. received preliminary US regulatory clearance to restart deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, paving the way for the end to a drought that drained cash and dented the planemaker’s reputation for quality.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing’s plans to inspect and repair tiny manufacturing flaws in the Dreamliner’s carbon-composite frame, two people familiar with the plan said late Friday. The jet manufacturer had largely halted deliveries since late 2020 as its engineers found improperly filled gaps in about 20 locations.

The FAA agreement is a milestone for the company, but it won’t immediately resume deliveries. Boeing must still make required fixes and get FAA inspectors to approve each aircraft, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information hasn’t been publicly announced. While timing of delivery resumptions remains unclear, the company is aiming to begin in the week of Aug. 8, one of the people said.

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The resumption of shipments will mark a financial turnaround for Boeing after years of operational lapses that have frustrated customers, suppliers and investors. It’s also a potential catalyst for Boeing shares, since the Arlington, Virginia-based company will start to unlock nearly $10 billion in cash tied up in Dreamliners stashed around its factories and in desert storage, according to Rob Spingarn, an analyst with Melius Research.

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The chief problem for the 787 had been how the plane’s carbon-fiber fuselage sections were joined, which didn’t meet Boeing’s design specifications but wasn’t deemed to be a safety hazard.

The company’s plan to resume sales also includes addressing how the planemaker constructed the so-called forward pressure bulkhead, the structure near the nose that maintains pressurized atmosphere, and other issues that had arisen during the past year, said one of the people.

This is what happens when the marketing and finance guys take over.