Boeing poised to deliver 787 jets after five-month drought

Boeing is poised to resume delivering its 787 Dreamliners this week, ending a five-month halt while the planemaker’s mechanics searched for tiny structural flaws in the carbon-fiber aircraft. The initial shipment is expected as soon as Friday, with Boeing likely to hand over two or three of the jets this month, said the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is confidential. The FAA said late Thursday that it cleared two of the four planes on which it had conducted special inspections, and had yet to complete checks of the other two. The renewed Dreamliner deliveries will ease the uncertainty that had been building around Boeing’s most advanced aircraft. The drought in shipments of the wide-body plane added to the company’s cash pressures, with more than 80 undelivered Dreamliners stacked up around Boeing factories and in a desert storage lot in Victorville, California. “We continue to expect to resume delivering 787s by the end of March,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. “However, we will continue to take the time necessary and will adjust any delivery plans as needed. We remain in constant and transparent communication with our customers and regulators.” The FAA’s action cleared the way for Boeing to deliver two Dreamliners, and signaled that the regulator found that the company’s revised processes for building 787 jets met safety standards.<br/>