Boeing temporarily halts delivery of 787 Dreamliners over fuselage issue

Boeing has temporarily halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners so it can do additional analysis on a fuselage component, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNBC Thursday.

The company won’t be able to resume deliveries until it can show the FAA it has resolved the issue. Boeing doesn’t expect the problem to require additional work on the 787s, a person familiar with the matter said.

Boeing didn’t immediately comment. Shares of the company fell 3% in off-hours trading.

The planes, which are often used for long-haul international routes, have suffered several issues for several years. This is not the first time that deliveries were halted.

In May 2021, Boeing halted deliveries of the wide-body planes for the second time in less than a year after the FAA determined there were issues with the manufacturer’s method for evaluating the aircraft. The FAA said previously the issues were related to problems with incorrect spacing in some parts of the 787 aircraft, including the fuselage, which Boeing acknowledged was a problem in 2020, sparking a five-month stop on deliveries.

In August 2022, it delivered its first 787 Dreamliner since the latest delivery pause to American Airlines, marking a milestone for the company because the bulk of the aircraft’s price is paid when it’s handed over to customers.

A few months later, United Airlines ordered 100 787 Dreamliners, with the option to buy 100 more, to replace some of its older stock.

The order was a major boost for Boeing, and the planes were slated to be delivered between 2024 and 2032, United said previously.

United’s CEO Scott Kirby has said it was easier to buy more Boeing 787s over rival Airbus’s competing A350 wide-body plane.

“In this world where we’re trying to bring on 2,500 pilots a year and grow the airline, introducing a new fleet type slows that down dramatically,” he said on a call with reporters. “And the truth is the 787 is a better replacement for the [767] because it’s smaller.”

Read the full statement from the FAA:

“Boeing temporarily halted deliveries of 787 Dreamliners after notifying the FAA that it is conducting additional analysis on a fuselage component. Deliveries will not resume until the FAA is satisfied that the issue has been addressed. The FAA is working with Boeing to determine any actions that might be required for recently delivered airplanes.”

–CNBC’s Phil LeBeau and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.