United Airlines’ new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that debuted the carrier’s new “United Elevate” interiors has been having some serious issues, to the point that the plane seems to be heading back to Boeing for some work. One wonders if this is just really bad luck, or what’s going on.
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United’s new Boeing 787-9 just can’t operate reliably
This spring, United Airlines began service with its newest batch of Boeing 787-9s. While the airline already has a large Dreamliner fleet, what’s special is that newly delivered plans feature the all-new “United Elevate” interiors, including new Polaris business class suites.
N61101 is the registration code for United’s first Boeing 787-9 with these interiors, which also has the United 100th anniversary decal on it. The plane’s first international route was between San Francisco (SFO) and Singapore (SIN), with service commencing on April 22, 2026.
At the time, I covered how the airline faced massive maintenance issues with this plane, including the return flight of the inaugural diverting, causing it to be ferried back to San Francisco empty. Then within a day of the plane reentering international service, it had even more maintenance issues, causing it to be taken out of service again.
While things seemed to be going smoothly for some amount of time, that’s no longer the case, as reported by JonNYC. As a matter of fact, over the past two weeks, the plane has operated a single flight with passengers:
- On June 4, the plane flew from San Francisco to Singapore, landing on June 6
- The return flight was canceled, and on June 7, the plane was ferried back to San Francisco empty
- After being in maintenance for six days, the plane then flew to London (LHR) on June 13, landing on June 14
- The return flight was canceled, and on June 15 the plane was ferried back to San Francisco empty
- The plane has now been grounded there for days, and the plan is that on Saturday, June 20, 2026, it will fly to Moses Lake (MWH), which is a Boeing maintenance base
JonNYC notes that the issue is “not minor,” but “should be a straightforward repair it seems like.”
The strange curse of the hyped Dreamliners
It remains to be seen what exactly the issue is, and also, to what extent the new problems are related to the ones that we saw when the plane first entered service.
United already had dozens of Dreamliners, so it’s really bad timing that the first new 787 with new interiors that was so heavily hyped has had such major issues. My default assumption would be that this is just really bad luck in terms of timing, and that there’s probably not more to this.
That being said, one further thought comes to mind. Remember last year, when American inducted its brand new Boeing 787-9s, with new interiors? Well, one of those Dreamliners had an absolutely brutal maintenance record for the first several weeks in which it was in service.
So is Boeing just having a really rough time with quality on new 787s, is this all bad luck, or what? One would almost wonder if this has something to do with the new interiors and wiring, but I don’t believe any of these issues are related to that, at least based on what we know.
Bottom line
United Airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 with the United Elevate interiors is once again having major maintenance issues. This plane had a lot of problems when it first entered service in April, to the point that we saw the plane on the ground more than in the air.
Things seemed to be going smoothly for some amount of time, only for issues to once again arise. In the past two weeks, the plane has flown a single flight with passengers. It has also now been ferried on two international flights, and aside from that, it has been on the ground.
With the plane now having been grounded for nearly five days, the plan is to send the Dreamliner to Moses Lake, which is a Boeing maintenance facility. It must be a pretty serious or mysterious issue if even United’s experienced maintenance team can’t get to the bottom of this…
What do you make of the issues with this United Dreamliner?
I had a pickup act the same way one time. Worked great for a while, then would start slipping. Into the shop for repairs, worked great for a few days then would have rough shifting. A new problem every week or two that would get fixed, followed by another problem. The problem was accidentally fixed when one of the mechanics decided to flash the computer’s memory for no real reason. That fixed everything. Zero problems since. Maybe Boeing should try that.
maybe a boeing production employee does not like
Hope United is still looking at those Airbus A350s it has on order.
since Scott Kirby publicly trashed Rolls Royce for not giving UA 10 year old pricing, it is doubtful the relationship will be fixed anytime soon.
It's not just about build quality but the fact that the A350 is larger and far more capable which should be something that a carrier that touts its size over the Pacific would want.
"since Scott Kirby publicly trashed Rolls Royce for not giving UA 10 year old pricing, it is doubtful the relationship will be fixed anytime soon."
Right, just like AA getting into a multi-year liability spat with Airbus, only to come back and make the (then) largest order Airbus had ever had in its history.
Corporations are not preteen girls with a homeroom grudge. These are multi-billion dollar money whores, who will pursue whatever future deal...
"since Scott Kirby publicly trashed Rolls Royce for not giving UA 10 year old pricing, it is doubtful the relationship will be fixed anytime soon."
Right, just like AA getting into a multi-year liability spat with Airbus, only to come back and make the (then) largest order Airbus had ever had in its history.
Corporations are not preteen girls with a homeroom grudge. These are multi-billion dollar money whores, who will pursue whatever future deal is in their best financial interest, regardless of who offers it.
A memo was leaked explaining that the early issues in the planes was due to the warmer ovens in the mid-galley melting the insulation behind it and causing the fumes / burning smell that delayed or canceled many flights. They had sniffers on board in test flights, apparently, trying to figure it out. FAs are being told to run those warmers at 50%.
This sounds like a much larger and more corrective issue than that.
I would seriously like to know howJonNYC is so plugged into so many airlines and has so many scoops while performing such deep incisive analysis. He’s really the best out there.
He's the guy airlines go to release unofficial statements.
They intentionally "leak" it to him.
UA certainly didn't leak this information. He has sources and manages to pull out information that employees, not mgmt, know.
In this particular case, he has no clue what Boeing or United could do so makes a statement that it is a significant but Boeing can get it figured out pretty quickly.
If it is a major issue that requires significant rework, then it is not going to be a quick fix.
UA has...
UA certainly didn't leak this information. He has sources and manages to pull out information that employees, not mgmt, know.
In this particular case, he has no clue what Boeing or United could do so makes a statement that it is a significant but Boeing can get it figured out pretty quickly.
If it is a major issue that requires significant rework, then it is not going to be a quick fix.
UA has rebuilt aircraft on its own in order to keep from writing it off - such as the 767 that had a hard landing at IAH.
UA is fully capable of doing anything to a plane it wants esp. if Boeing provides the parts - which they do to UA and other airlines all the time.
Hopefully will keep track of how long this aircraft is out of service.
Someone sounds, and is acting, awfully jealous.
Lil Timmy can’t hold JonNYC’s jock
you can't stand it if anyone calls black and white it is.
It sounds childish to say "I know what the problem is but I am not telling you"
It went to Boeing because the aircraft is under warranty....
As JonNYC said, it is not a minor issue so it requires significant, but straightforward rework on aircraft 1101. Meanwhile, UA's other five other "United Elevate" 789s are performing flawlessly on their SFO-SIN & SFO-LHR routes.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlYgN_IZmd6CSx_nXnuP0L0PiodapDRx3RmNkIpxXAo/htmlview#gid=2098141434
Aircraft 1107 should be delivered to UA shortly followed by as many as 13 more "United Elevate" 789s in 2026 alone.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FH3Y2-vRUgojntPkCSJI5Pd-15rsJ1a0SFCRaT-iqgo/edit?gid=2#gid=2
As JonNYC said, it is not a minor issue so it requires significant, but straightforward rework on aircraft 1101. Meanwhile, UA's other five other "United Elevate" 789s are performing flawlessly on their SFO-SIN & SFO-LHR routes.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlYgN_IZmd6CSx_nXnuP0L0PiodapDRx3RmNkIpxXAo/htmlview#gid=2098141434
Aircraft 1107 should be delivered to UA shortly followed by as many as 13 more "United Elevate" 789s in 2026 alone.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FH3Y2-vRUgojntPkCSJI5Pd-15rsJ1a0SFCRaT-iqgo/edit?gid=2#gid=2
wonderful.
so a 17% failure rate is acceptable or is that level a true supply chain failure?
btw, how is Kirby doing at patching up the relationship with Rolls Royce? Has it sunk in that his archcompetitor and most of UA's TPAC competitors fly the A350 which is larger and more capable than anything in UA's fleet?
oh, and many of those PW 777s are grounded due to a lack of engine parts? You know:...
wonderful.
so a 17% failure rate is acceptable or is that level a true supply chain failure?
btw, how is Kirby doing at patching up the relationship with Rolls Royce? Has it sunk in that his archcompetitor and most of UA's TPAC competitors fly the A350 which is larger and more capable than anything in UA's fleet?
oh, and many of those PW 777s are grounded due to a lack of engine parts? You know: the orphan fleet which most airlines grounded after the 3rd uncontained engine failure so there aren't enough users to support them but UA keeps them.
UA has 87 787s so more like 1%. Boeing will fix it, and likely compensate UA further for it. Still waiting for those markets in which the 787s don't work especially since the new increased gross weight (IGW) aircraft are coming online. UA already has two 789 IGWs.
789 IGW + 10,000 lbs MTOW or 300 nm.
78X IGW + 14,000 lbs MTOW or 400 nm.
UA has 57 more wide body (WB) aircraft...
UA has 87 787s so more like 1%. Boeing will fix it, and likely compensate UA further for it. Still waiting for those markets in which the 787s don't work especially since the new increased gross weight (IGW) aircraft are coming online. UA already has two 789 IGWs.
789 IGW + 10,000 lbs MTOW or 300 nm.
78X IGW + 14,000 lbs MTOW or 400 nm.
UA has 57 more wide body (WB) aircraft than DL and that lead will grow to 67 by year's end. UA also has 50 more WBs on order than DL which are being delivered far sooner than DL's. Those 78Xs will be cool when DL gets them in 2031. Yikes!
of course Boeing will fix it. It is still a supply chain failure and real customers have been inconvenienced on a real flight which certainly hasn't happened with any seat design failure.
the size of the fleet doesn't change the capability of the aircraft one iota.
not a single 787 for any airline can do what either version of the A350 can do with the same number of passengers and cargo. The A350 is...
of course Boeing will fix it. It is still a supply chain failure and real customers have been inconvenienced on a real flight which certainly hasn't happened with any seat design failure.
the size of the fleet doesn't change the capability of the aircraft one iota.
not a single 787 for any airline can do what either version of the A350 can do with the same number of passengers and cargo. The A350 is simply the most capable and efficient widebody in existence and UA put off making a decision and now thinks it can get 10 year old pricing; when a CEO publicly trashes a supplier, there is no reason to believe they are close to a settlement.
the 787-10 IS a great plane. but it can do nothing compared to the A350-1000 which will be in service for DL by this time next year.
The real YIKES is the revenue that DL will siphon off of UA's Pacific network even before passengers get nervous about flying UA's 787s.
and you didn't answer how many of those PW 777s are grounded for a lack of engine parts.
Can you and your ever knowledgeable friend Jon give us an answer?
Inconvenienced customers? Delta's mainline cancellation rate is 101% higher than UA's in the first four months of 2026, and in the last three days DL has cancelled 305 flights vs 51 for UA. Guess the DL pilot scheduling problem isn't solved after all. Yikes!
Still waiting on that list of city pairs the 787 can't handle. Cat got your tongue?
full deflection.
The discussion isn't cancellations or delays.
It is supply chain issues which in this case involve United's largest supplier; UA could have rejected this plane but took delivery of it only to find out all these problems. Why didn't UA find these problems during their pre-delivery inspections?
nobody except you keeps daily scorecards that only manage to note other airlines' operations when they have weather issues but ignore it everywhere else.
Chicago...
full deflection.
The discussion isn't cancellations or delays.
It is supply chain issues which in this case involve United's largest supplier; UA could have rejected this plane but took delivery of it only to find out all these problems. Why didn't UA find these problems during their pre-delivery inspections?
nobody except you keeps daily scorecards that only manage to note other airlines' operations when they have weather issues but ignore it everywhere else.
Chicago has been a mess for a month and, even if yesterday and today look like good weather, the stats are reported by the month and year. UA has given up its run at operational reliability which includes UA and its regional carriers.
as for the list of flights that the 359 can do better than the 789... that would be any flight in DL's 275 seat configuration compared to ANY UA 789 configuration since neither UA configuration carries as many passengers or cargo as DL's 275 seat configuration.
and the manufacturers' own specifications show the 359 has greater range.
accept it... UA bought a dud and didn't bother to figure it out until the plane was on the other side of the planet. thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled or delayed at the last minute because of UA's incompetence - but you will continue to throw dirt at someone else instead of accept the obvious
You brought up passenger inconvenience in which Delta is solidly in the lead for 2026.
1101 is one aircraft that will take a few weeks to fix. Delta’s seven A321s were out of commission for months and will be without lie-flat beds for years. Enjoy those 44 recliners. Add it to the Delta list.
No wifi over most of Pacific
Only 80 aircraft with D1 suites installed in nine years
717 non-compliant new...
You brought up passenger inconvenience in which Delta is solidly in the lead for 2026.
1101 is one aircraft that will take a few weeks to fix. Delta’s seven A321s were out of commission for months and will be without lie-flat beds for years. Enjoy those 44 recliners. Add it to the Delta list.
No wifi over most of Pacific
Only 80 aircraft with D1 suites installed in nine years
717 non-compliant new seats (back to drawing board), no screens, no wifi
739s 33 Lion Air in 10/23 just started getting refurbished with screens & wifi
764 non-D1 suites mess, 763s Yikes!
777 refurbed (then the pseudo cargo transformation prior to retiring)
359s Latam took four years to get interiors installed on just nine planes
A350s with no gasper vents
A321 CEOs with small overhead bins
A321 NEOs lie flats disapproved (fire resistance), engines removed, substandard FC seats until new lie flats, W&B issues
thank you for confirming for all the world that you are nothing but a pathetic, paid United mouthpiece that is incapable of admitting anything your company does wrong while you endlessly and illogically throw dirt at everyone else. How pathetic that you have an insatiable need to defend a company everytime anyone says anything negative about them.
Even worse is how illogical your arguments even are. When one company doesn't even offer something for sale...
thank you for confirming for all the world that you are nothing but a pathetic, paid United mouthpiece that is incapable of admitting anything your company does wrong while you endlessly and illogically throw dirt at everyone else. How pathetic that you have an insatiable need to defend a company everytime anyone says anything negative about them.
Even worse is how illogical your arguments even are. When one company doesn't even offer something for sale or promotes what it actually does deliver, it is inconceivable how you think that company lets anyone down while ignoring that UA cancelled and delayed multiple flights because of their inability to find problems before putting a plane into service on flights that had real passengers booked.
you STILL have yet to tell us how many of those PW 777s are grounded because of a lack of parts.
just walk away.
how can others at least make some positive contribution but you are only incapable of throwing dirt and deflecting?
EVERYONE has supply chain issues.
JUST
WALK
AWAY
LTD says, "EVERYONE has supply chain issues."
Delta is unique in its inability to refurbish aircraft interiors in a timely manner which causes very poor hard product consistency. But hey, DL is #1 at marketing. ;)
Walter Mitty Dunn, hypocrite extraordinaire.
How can one not respond to such piffle?
The only positive thing you have said, aero, is to tell him to walk away. Which he should
Only a hypocrite would nitpick incessantly at a competitor that actually ACCURATELY markets what services it offers instead of scheduling airplanes that have to be returned to the manufacturer because they fail to even be operable.
We can go on all day, you anonymous bag of hot air and hatred.
DL never committed to the rapid refurbishment...
The only positive thing you have said, aero, is to tell him to walk away. Which he should
Only a hypocrite would nitpick incessantly at a competitor that actually ACCURATELY markets what services it offers instead of scheduling airplanes that have to be returned to the manufacturer because they fail to even be operable.
We can go on all day, you anonymous bag of hot air and hatred.
DL never committed to the rapid refurbishment that you accuse them of not doing.
And UA has STILL not completed Next or Starlink even though both have been advertised for years.
Everyone has supply chain issues and, as much as you want to throw dirt, what you think your competitors are doing isn't any better or worse than yours.
United nailed it with huge aircraft orders at such favorable terms that these deliveries are now accretive. Amazing. Maybe that is why DL is shrinking incrementally in NYC and so slow to refurbish aircraft interiors because they don't have enough aircraft and won't for quite some time.
Tim, you got absolutely smoked in this conversation.
thank you Timcel confirming for all the world that you are nothing but a pathetic, paid Delta mouthpiece that is incapable of admitting anything your company does wrong while you endlessly and illogically throw dirt at everyone else. How pathetic that you have an insatiable need to defend a company everytime anyone says anything negative about them.
someone spends their life throwing dirt at other companies don't "smoke" anyone.
they simply prove how insecure they are.
rebel spends his life touting how great UA is but there isn't a thing they do best in class other than total number of ASMs flown and they still managed to neglct the US for so long there is virtually no chance they will ever be #1 in the US.
How does a company lose sight...
someone spends their life throwing dirt at other companies don't "smoke" anyone.
they simply prove how insecure they are.
rebel spends his life touting how great UA is but there isn't a thing they do best in class other than total number of ASMs flown and they still managed to neglct the US for so long there is virtually no chance they will ever be #1 in the US.
How does a company lose sight of their home market for so long that they can never be largest in that market.
We're talking STRATEGY, not nitpicking over details that can and will be overcome, including grounded aircraft.
Boeing can build UA another 787 that will work; no one can make UA succeed where it failed to even pay attention.
when someone throws hypocritical pieces of information in response to legitimate strategic failures, they aren't ever going to own anyone.
so a 17% lying rate is acceptable or is that level a true Tim Dunn failure?
Stop lying with random numbers and give us a straight answer..
@ Tim Dunn -- We're waiting to learn which EWR-LAX frequencies UA operates with 737-900ERs, please!! These are the important details!
We're also waiting for rebel to tell us how UA went from an earnings advantage in 1Q2025 but went to a $1.6 billion earnings deficit by the end of 2025 - but we haven't heard that either.
perhaps you can nudge him for that answer and we'll have half of OMAAT's mysteries figured out.
So what exactly are the issues? Does anyone outside UA and Boeing know?
how is a problem not minor but a straight forward fix for Boeing?
airlines (or their contractors) completely tear down aircraft during their life at least one or two times for major overhauls so they can do anything.
It's hard to understand how the problem is known but Boeing wants to do the work itself rather than compensate UA for the repairs.
and to think that there are people that make so much noise...
how is a problem not minor but a straight forward fix for Boeing?
airlines (or their contractors) completely tear down aircraft during their life at least one or two times for major overhauls so they can do anything.
It's hard to understand how the problem is known but Boeing wants to do the work itself rather than compensate UA for the repairs.
and to think that there are people that make so much noise about certification of seats on a few aircraft but this plane will earn precisely no revenue and can't be part of UA's fleet.
This is an example of the epitome of supply chain failures but some are content to throw dirt at others over seats.
I would expect Boeing is doing the work under warranty *and* is compensating UA for the aircraft being out of service. That does not tie-up UA maintenance resources and may enable Boeing to complete the work with any specialized equipment required.
Very uncomfortable-appearing twisted J seats .
For all the Boeing haters, you should be keeping up with the United stories. Hitting a light pole and truck while landing at EWR and landing at EWR with an emergency call for low fuel. United's operation is not the best these days.
It one does not land for low fuel , what ought it to do ? Also , it was a bakery truck .
Warranty Work. Hence going to Moses. Question will be if there are similar or related issues being discovered.
This article will bring tears of joy to some and expletives from others …. ORD, will be ‘overjoyed’ at having to gag on past rhetoric.
Surely this situation is one of the finest examples of how a company run by ‘shiny bum’ accountants, can penny pinch once excellent engineering management into disaster.
Boeing is having a seriously hard time delivering airplanes that don’t require significant rework. Have to wonder if UA and AA both are able to charge back the associated costs of these cancellations, let alone the cost of fixing their poorly pieced together planes.
8ME, the second AA 789P to be delivered, had major issues after delivery. Engines not shutting off when parked at the gate, doors improperly aligned, etc.. Interior components (seats, WiFi,...
Boeing is having a seriously hard time delivering airplanes that don’t require significant rework. Have to wonder if UA and AA both are able to charge back the associated costs of these cancellations, let alone the cost of fixing their poorly pieced together planes.
8ME, the second AA 789P to be delivered, had major issues after delivery. Engines not shutting off when parked at the gate, doors improperly aligned, etc.. Interior components (seats, WiFi, IFE) had similar issues, but none that caused cancellations. She was known as the selfish Dreamliner, since she was all about ME ME ME.