Alaska Airlines said that Boeing’s production oversight efforts will include the Boeing 787 Dreamliner line in Charleston. The news comes as the airline marks one year since a door plug detached from one of the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after take-off on a flight from Portland.

Up next: 787

Following the door plug incident, Alaska Airlines
has implemented numerous measures to address quality concerns with delivered aircraft.

In the past year, the Alaska Airlines audit team frequently visited Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, which manufactures the fuselage, and Boeing’s Renton factory. Alongside the US civil aviation regulator, the airline’s team has been involved in assessing Boeing’s production quality and control systems.

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 taking off

Photo: Ross Howey Photo | Shutterstock

Currently, Alaska deploys three aircraft acquisition representatives (AARs), who are on-site at Boeing five days a week, covering different shifts and remaining on call to conduct inspections as defined by the carrier’s standards. Additionally, Alaska continues to have three engineers at the Boeing
delivery center to perform customer walks and oversee customer flight duties, “helping to ensure that our aircraft undergo thorough inspections prior to delivery.” In a statement, Brooke Vatheuer, Vice President of audit programs at Alaska Airlines, said:

“We are optimistic about Boeing’s dedication and positive momentum in making significant improvements thus far. Looking ahead, we have planned several visits to Boeing in 2025 to ensure our teams and Ausgael are inspecting our aircraft thoroughly and to observe Boeing’s continued process and cultural improvements firsthand.”

Looking ahead to 2025, Alaska Airlines will extend its oversight of the 787 production line. Following its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024, Alaska Air Group’s fleet now includes Boeing 787 aircraft.

“Additionally, we will extend our efforts to the 787 line in Charleston as we prepare for future deliveries.”

According to ch-aviation data, Hawaiian Airlines
has two Boeing 787-9 widebodies in its fleet, with an average age of 2.3 years. The carrier is currently awaiting ten 787-9 deliveries.

Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787-9 departing LAS

Photo: christopheronglv | Shutterstock

It was supposed to receive three 787-9s by the end of 2024 and the remaining deliveries through 2027. However, Boeing 787 production has been plagued by delays, and Hawaiian Airlines is not the only carrier affected by them.

Boeing 787 delivery delays

Airlines with the Boeing 787
fleet are experiencing route network adjustments due to the aircraft’s delivery delays. In a recent announcement, British Airways said it would cut its summer flights between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH).

British Airways
scrapped the flights between LHR and Abu Dhabi due to delays in Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines and its part deliveries. In a statement to Simple Flying, the airline confirmed the disruption. Commenting on the news, a British Airways spokesperson said:

“We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly concerning the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.”

British Airways Boeing 787-9 landing in Calgary, Canada

Photo: Heather Dunbar | Shutterstock

The industry has been facing supply chain issues over the past few years, primarily due to increased air travel demand and raw material shortages caused by geopolitical tensions (for example, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted titanium supplies). In a comment to Simple Flying, a Rolls-Royce spokesperson reiterated that supply chain issues cause the delays:

“This is due to the current challenging industry wide supply chain constraints. We continue to work with all our customers to minimise the impact of the limited availability of spares parts. All of the companies in our industry are suffering from this.”

American Airlines also had to make significant adjustments to its long-haul international route network for the spring of 2025, the carrier’s spokesperson confirmed to Simple Flying.

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