Boeing shares surge as it nears 787 delivery resumption

Shares of Boeing jumped early Monday as the aviation giant moved closer to final regulatory approval to resume deliveries of the 787 jet.

The Federal Aviation Administration signed off on Boeing's certification plan for the top-selling widebody plane, a person familiar with the situation told AFP.

"Deliveries aren't imminent and there are additional steps in the process that we will follow," this person said.

Shares surged 5.8 percent to $168.60 early Monday, reflecting enthusiasm at the restoration of revenues from a cash cow plane whose struggles have crimped company finances for more than a year.

Deliveries have been halted since spring 2021 while officials from the company and FAA have worked to hash out an inspection and repair system following manufacturing defects uncovered on the plane.

The FAA referred questions to Boeing, saying "we don't comment on ongoing certifications."

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A Boeing spokesman said, "we will continue to work transparently with the FAA and our customers towards resuming 787 deliveries."

The 787's travails date to late summer 2020, when the company uncovered manufacturing flaws with some jets. Boeing subsequently identified additional issues, including with the horizontal stabilizer.

The difficulties curtailed deliveries between November 2020 and March 2021. Boeing suspended deliveries later in spring 2021 after more problems surfaced.

On a July 27 earnings conference call, Chief Executive Dave Calhoun described the company as "on the verge" of garnering approval from US air safety officials on the 787, though he declined to give a precise target date.

At the end of June, Boeing had 120 Dreamliner planes in inventory and was producing the jet "at very low rates," the company said in a filing.

The FAA is expected to inspect each 787 before it is delivered to airlines.

Source: AFP