Boeing plans to reduce 787 Dreamliner production in mid-2021

Aerospace and defence company Boeing has plans to cut 787 Dreamliner production from six a month to five in mid-2021 as international air travel continues to suffer due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In November, the firm did not deliver any 787 aircraft.

At a conference, Boeing chief financial officer Greg Smith said that the international passenger traffic has decreased by 90% compared with last year, thereby affecting the ‘overall near-term demand for the wide-body markets’.

CNBC.com quoted Smith as saying: “The additional time that we’re taking to inspect and ensure that each of our 787s is delivered to the highest quality standards has taken longer than we previously anticipated.”

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is designed for long-haul international routes.

According to industry experts and analysts, long haul aircraft are expected to be the last to recover in the aviation industry, reported CNBC.com.

Boeing’s latest plan comes two months after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it is reviewing Boeing 787 Dreamliners as the company disclosed manufacturing issues, involving some jets.

Boeing CFO added that the inspection ‘process will continue to slow deliveries in December’.

The issues on 787 Dreamliners emerged as the manufacturer was keen to resume deliveries of troubled 737 Max aircraft after making several safety upgrades.

Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted the grounding of the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March last year following two fatal crashes.

Last week, Ryanair announced that it was acquiring an additional 75 Max jets in addition to the 135 aircraft it had earlier ordered.