Boeing said cleared to resume wide-body jet deliveries to China

Boeing Co. has been cleared to resume delivering wide-body jets to carriers in China after the nation’s air safety regulator completed its technical review of a key cockpit component, according to people briefed on the matter.

The US planemaker is poised to begin handovers of its 787 Dreamliner passenger jets and 777 cargo aircraft, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. Boeing isn’t yet approved to send its 737 Max jets to China, although that clearance is expected within a matter of weeks, the people said, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment. The Civil Aviation Administration of China didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The CAAC halted deliveries of Boeing’s commercial jets in May as Chinese officials studied the architecture of recently mandated 25-hour cockpit voice recorders. They’re powered by lithium-ion batteries and there was some thought that may pose a safety risk. China’s air regulator counterparts in the US and the European Union had already reviewed the design and deemed it safe.

The delivery pause contributed to Boeing’s financial difficulties at a time when the planemaker had already slowed production to retrain workers and combat snarls in its global supplier network amid intense regulatory scrutiny. 

Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer Brian West, when he cautioned late last month that second-quarter cash outflows would exceed the $3.9 billion burned through during the first quarter, cited the May delivery halt as one reason.

On Wednesday at Boeing’s behemoth plant north of Seattle, preparations were underway for an Air China Ltd. 777 freighter to take off on a customer check flight that would be customary prior to delivery. 

Another person familiar with the matter said that Juneyao Airlines Co. is among the Chinese airlines poised to take 787 Dreamliner deliveries in coming months.