"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," Boeing chief financial officer Brian West said on 25 January.
"We still expect to hit five per month this year," he added.
Boeing aims to reach a delivery target of 70-80 787 aircraft sometime in 2023, with an average monthly delivery rate of 5.8 to 6.7 jets. The company has been working to recover from a manufacturing quality issue with the 787 program, which involved improper gaps in the composite fuselage and resulted in a 22-month halt in deliveries.
Boeing restarted 787 deliveries in August 2022, following approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for necessary fixes. During the halt in deliveries, the company stockpiled undelivered 787s. As of the end of 2021, it held 110 jets and reduced the stockpile to 100 aircraft at the end of last year. The company is now carrying out the repairs on the remaining inventoried 787s through collaboration with suppliers.
West stated that the company is currently working to ensure that their major suppliers are following protocols and meeting standards in order to successfully complete the repairs on the inventoried 787s.
"It is going to take us a little bit longer than we expected, which is why we are going to five per month a bit later in the year," West added.
Boeing recorded an additional $600 million in unexpected expenses, labeled as "abnormal accounting" charges, for the 787 program in the last quarter of the previous year. This brings the total abnormal production charges for the program to $2.8 billion.
