American recently started taking delivery of its latest batch of Boeing 787-9s. These are exciting for the airline and for passengers, as they’re premium heavy jets, with new interiors. What’s less exciting is the recurring maintenance issue that one of these jets seems to be having.
In this post:
The short, cursed life of American’s N846AN
The Boeing 787-9 with the registration code N846AN is brand new, and was delivered to American on April 29, 2025, flying from Everett (PAE) to Dallas (DFW). On June 4, 2025, the plane was supposed to be ferried to Chicago (ORD), with flight number AA9783, in order to enter commercial service.
However, the plane encountered a maintenance issue, and had to return to Dallas, where it landed a little under an hour after it took off.
The next day, on June 5, 2025, the plane finally managed to position to Chicago.
Then on June 6, 2025, the plane was supposed to make its commercial debut, flying to Los Angeles (LAX) and back, operating as AA2012 and AA2321. That rotation ended up getting canceled altogether, again, due to maintenance issues.
The next day, the plane was scheduled to operate the exact same rotation. Fortunately this time around, things worked out a little better, with an emphasis on the “little better” part.
The plane managed to operate the outbound from Chicago to Los Angeles, with a delay of just over two hours. Funny enough, that delay was due to crew availability, rather than due to a maintenance issue. So that was the commercial inaugural flight for the jet.
Yay, does that mean the plane’s maintenance issues were fixed? Well, not so fast. The plane was supposed to have a quick turnaround in Los Angeles, with under 90 minutes on the ground. Instead, the flight that was supposed to depart at 1PM on June 7 has been rescheduled for 9PM on June 8, representing a 32-hour delay, and that’s best case scenario.
So yeah, while the plane was supposed to have operated four passenger flights as of now, in reality, it has operated a single flight. That’s not so good!
Is American’s brand new Boeing 787 a lemon, or…?
Clearly this brand new Boeing 787 has some problems. I’ve heard different theories as to what exactly the problem is, ranging from issues with one of the engines, to issues with one of the doors, so I can’t speak authoritatively to what’s going on.
As @xJonNYC notes, it seems to be unknown whether the current maintenance issues fit into the category of being “growing pains,” vs. there being some bigger issue with the jet.
Of course one would hope that brand new planes are delivered in perfect condition, but there are sometimes mistakes during the manufacturing process (especially with Boeing). Again, I’m not saying that is the case, but the fact that American keeps trying to fly the plane, only for it to then cause huge delays, suggests some issue keeps happening over and over.
I’m going to be tracking this new jet with great interest over the coming days, to see if American tries to keep the plane in commercial service, or if it eventually ends up back in the main maintenance facility in Dallas, or ends up being flown back to Boeing.
Bottom line
American’s brand new Boeing 787-9 with the registration code N846AN is having some recurring maintenance issues. The plane had to divert on its repositioning flight to Chicago, and of the four scheduled commercial flights, two have been canceled, and one has been delayed by at least 32 hours.
It’ll be interesting to see just how serious the issues with this plane are, and if it’ll eventually be taken out of service for some more serious maintenance work.
What do you make of the issues with this new 787-9?
More AA incompetence
Wow that is interesting. I’ve never thought of lemon planes but I’m sure it could happen. Will be interesting to observe
Hey All .. Have you ever looked at all the wiring, plumbing, sheetmetal, avionics in one of these babies? I’m surprised , pleasantly, that any brand new, man-made machine as complicated as these, actually work as well as they do. We all want perfect I understand. But sometimes, even with the best technology, crazy things still happen.
This whole episode is just typical of AA. Enter thevplane into season soon as possible. No need for a shake down flight. MOST embarrassing is NO CREW FOR THE INAUGURAL FLIGHT
Something tells me their is more underlying here than AA forgot to schedule crew. Did an assigned crewmember call out sick perhaps?
What happened to your robots/soa computers. You still have to remember your issues before firing your experienced staff. This includes the pilots.... sorry, thank you. darius sharifzade
The plane needs to be looked at by maintenance people in Naples, Italy right away!
Alright! Let’s play a game! Is it…
A. The seats
B. Something with the specific aeroplane
Vote while there’s still democracy!
Should have ordered an Airbus 350-900
So what was the "maintenance issue" ???
This may be common with mass produced commercial aircraft, but with modern tracking tools we have just become more aware of it.
I was supposed to be on the LAX-ORD flight today to try out the new flagship suite. Got an email this morning saying they "rebooked" my flight which now shows a block one 787-8 operating the flight instead. Was pretty disappointed but wasn't surprised as I was also tracking this tail number and noticed a lot of delays and cancellations associated with it. Hope to eventually get to try this product out and hopefully they fix whatever is wrong with N846AN as well.
Was this jet made in South Carolina?
" I’ve heard different theories as to what exactly the problem is, ranging from issues with one of the engines, to issues with one of the doors, so I can’t speak authoritatively to what’s going on."
A true statement.
If you look at the photos from media day the business class seats look heavy while the economy seats look wafer thin like fold up chairs with padding . Can the weight and balance of a plane change inflight after fuel burn ?
The 777 767 757 747 737NG* are all great aircraft.The 787 is a piece of junk.The airbus is a piece if garbage compared to them and is truly a throwaway airplane Airbus=Scarebus.Hopefully boeing comes back with the 797 soon because it's looking bad...
One has been accused of being one of Ben’s, “Army of the ignorant”. That may have been true as far as the commercial airline ‘business’ is concerned. However, since reading Ben’s blog my horizons have been broadened not only by the editorial content, but the sensible comments too. I am a grateful recipient, thank you.
My knowledge of the Boeing offerings are mainly military based, both rotary and fixed wing. One’s experience has been...
One has been accused of being one of Ben’s, “Army of the ignorant”. That may have been true as far as the commercial airline ‘business’ is concerned. However, since reading Ben’s blog my horizons have been broadened not only by the editorial content, but the sensible comments too. I am a grateful recipient, thank you.
My knowledge of the Boeing offerings are mainly military based, both rotary and fixed wing. One’s experience has been long, extensive and mainly positive.
As a commercial aircraft passenger, I have been fortunate enough to have experienced hundreds of hours in both Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Without a shadow of a doubt, I would always choose an Airbus ride over a Boeing flight. The A350 and A380 being my go to aircraft of choice.
I will never set foot inside a 787-9, 777X or that matter the very suspect Max thingy. That said, I still have two more missions to complete this month for my masters, thankfully both are scheduled to be in Airbus aircraft at the moment. As following those flights I will be the one paying for my rides, only Airbus flying airlines will enjoy my patronage.
I have flown several flights on the 789, including an ORD-LHR round-trip, and one MAX flight.
The 789 is better than the 773 and the 763, while the MAX seemed no different than the 737NG.
A friend of mine has flown with a major carrier for over 30 years, avoiding McDonnell Douglas and Airbus (or as he says, Scarebus) like the plague.
Too many of his fellow pilots from his airline complain of the Airbuses...
I have flown several flights on the 789, including an ORD-LHR round-trip, and one MAX flight.
The 789 is better than the 773 and the 763, while the MAX seemed no different than the 737NG.
A friend of mine has flown with a major carrier for over 30 years, avoiding McDonnell Douglas and Airbus (or as he says, Scarebus) like the plague.
Too many of his fellow pilots from his airline complain of the Airbuses having minds of their owns and ignoring what pilots input into the controls.
On the other hand, he likes piloting the MAX. He believes that the MAX has a smoother ride, flying more like the 767, which he flew for 15 years.
Let's remember that on Pan Am's inaugural 747 flight from New York to London, the plane went tech after leaving the gate. After a delay of several hours, Pan Am had to swap aircraft.
I was on an AA flight on a 772 from DFW to ORD. The plane had just come out of the maintenance hanger. The first delay was due to a software upgrade that hadn't been installed. Then, the hydraulic system failed. After two hours, we wound up swapping aircraft for a 772 that had just arrived from Europe.
Thank you for your input Chuck, I can concur that the MD crates did have a poor reputation this side of the pond.
I did laugh at your “Scarebus” quip. It reminded me about a tactical landing I undertook after qualifying on the A400M Atlas, according to the Load Master there must have been a few brown skiddies accompanying the troops off the ramp.
I enjoyed the adrenaline rush anyway.
As they say …. “Every landing you walk away from is a good landing” …. :-)
…. CORRECTION ….
Not Atlas …. C130!!
Like the saying goes "if it's a boeing, I ain't going"
How about you post something positive instead of your usual miserable drivel.
Like others have said, head on back to NY you leech. You ruin travel for everyone.
@ Sen Blappig -- "Like others have said?" AKA you with a VPN? I last lived in New York nearly 30 years ago, when I was a little kid.
Sen Piggy, such a good name for a Boeing apologist who is only capable of posting the “Usual miserable drivel”.
As you are so clever …. I challenge you to find and post something positive to post about the unfortunate Boeing catalog of errors.
@aerpB23a - that one is the easy: airbus stock
Here comes Ben, followed by his army of the ignorant, ready to tear down ANYTHING positive in the airline world.
Things happen. Sometimes it's inconvenient. Other times it sucks. Stop with the incessant $#itting on your "hometown" airline (in quotes, newcomer).
If you hate AA so much, head on back to New York you miserable dork. You'll have more options there. People like you have ruined FL, and airline travel.
@ Ben Suxig -- I'll play along, as I think you're confused. I'm not in any way blaming American for this. I assume it's some sort of a defect with how the plane was delivered, and that American has no fault in this.
And regarding people like me ruining Florida? Lol that's a good one, I haven't heard that before...
Ben Sissy, as you are such a know-it-all, please allow me to challenge you to find “ANYTHING positive” to say about your AA experience.
Being one of the article authors “Army of the ignorant”, I for one would warmly welcome the benefit of your worldly knowledge. Go on Sissy, surprise us all with your wisdom if you possess any?
Woah dude, why are you calling Ben a sissy? Thats out of line...
Not reading my post is definitely “Out of line” …. Jorts.
Even the Apes character would not be so remiss.
The 787 are awful planes.
For a new design (sort ofl they are noisy (way noisier than any Airbus), overly packed with 9 across in economy (was supposed to be 8) and they often have nasty vibrations and rumbles (more than any other plans I have been on). I really don't like them. I think they are the first of the bad planes by Boeing. Then of course the Max... We shall see the 777x but I have low expectations..as we know the company has been going down the pan
[Citation needed].
For a showcase jet, this is embarrassing!!
Hope someone in the C-Suite stops obsessing over the strike point of his stock options and starts obsessing with airline business.
I still think about the Boeing worker who confessed staff in the assembly line left a ladder in the tail section and it remained there during a test flight. Of course new planes can easily have some issues but Boeing seems to have a heck of a lot of them.