How Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner took off after a troubled past

Boeing delivered its first 787 Dreamliner in more than a year earlier this week after a lengthy halt, stemming from production problems, cost the US planemaker at least $5 billion. The restart in deliveries comes as a major relief for Boeing, which was struggling with the production of the wide-body jet for more than two years.

The Dreamliner family has three variants: 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10. They have a range of 11,700km to 14,000km, according to the airline’s website. The largest variant, the 787-10, can seat up to 336 people. All Dreamliners are powered by General Electric’s GEnx-1B or Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines.

The Dreamliner is also at the helm of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways’ partnership with Boeing and GE for a Greenliner programme to make global aviation more sustainable. Here is a timeline of the troubled 787 programme since 2020.

September 2020: Boeing finds production problem in the new 787 Dreamliner and warns of delays in deliveries.

December 2020: Cuts 787 Dreamliner production for the fourth time in 18 months after posting zero deliveries in November.

December 2020: The company's quality inspections related to previously disclosed production flaws in the plane finds the same issue in other parts of the jet.

March 2021: Boeing resumes 787 deliveries; hands over one plane to United Airlines.

May 2021: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says Boeing will temporarily halt 787 deliveries as the agency waits for more data to determine if the planemaker's planned inspection method meets federal requirements.

July 2021: The FAA says some undelivered planes have a new manufacturing quality issue that the company will fix before delivery.

July 2021: Boeing cuts 787 production after finding another production-related structural defect.

September 2021: The 'Wall Street Journal' reports that the delivery of Dreamliners will likely remain halted until at least late October as the FAA rejects the company's inspection proposal.

October 2021: Boeing finds new defect in 787 Dreamliner, says some titanium parts were improperly manufactured over the past three years.

January 2022: Unveils a total of $4.5 billion in charges in the fourth quarter related to 787 delivery delays, customer concessions and production costs.

February 2022: The FAA says it would perform final inspections on new jets and will not allow the planemaker to self-certify individual new Boeing 787 planes.

April 2022: Boeing tells airlines and parts suppliers that 787 deliveries will resume in the second half of 2022.

May 2022: The FAA finds 787 certification documents incomplete.

July 2022: FAA approves Boeing's inspection and modification plan to resume deliveries of the aircraft.

August 2022: The US government approves the first 787 delivery since 2021, clearing the way for American Airlines to take possession.

August 2022: American Airlines says it has taken the delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner. (With inputs from Reuters)