United’s brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring its next-generation Polaris Business Class suite and Polaris Studio, as well as the airline’s ‘United Elevated’ interiors throughout, has been breaking down so much that the Chicago-based carrier has been forced to send the plane back to Boeing for remedial work.
The aircraft (registration: N61101) was only delivered to United at the end of February, fresh from Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner assembly line in Charleston, South Carolina, but the plane has been beset with difficulties ever since it was put into commercial operation on March 29.
United has taken delivery of five 787-9s with the new ‘Elevated’ interior, although it appears that the first of those five to be delivered is the one that is having the worst teething problems.
Things got off to a bad start for the aircraft when its pilots were forced to make an emergency diversion on April 24 during the return leg of its first-ever international flight to Singapore. Shortly after takeoff, the pilots reported a worrying electrical smell that was spreading throughout the cabin.
Immediate suspicion on the cause of the electrical smell fell on the massive GEnx engines that power the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and the plane was immediately sent for testing to see whether engineers could get the electrical smell to come back while the plane was on the ground.
The aircraft was ferried back to San Francisco the following day before being cleared to return to passenger operation, initially operating domestic legs and only returning to Singapore in early May.
That second attempt at operating a flight to Singapore went just as badly as the first time. The plane ended up being grounded in Singapore and had to be ferried back to San Francisco, where it underwent further testing before being deployed on flights to London.
At this point, it looked like the issues with N61101 had been resolved. That was until United decided it was time to try to send the plane back to Singapore on June 4. The aircraft made it to Singapore but, for the third time, was grounded before the return flight to San Francisco.
Yet again, the aircraft had to be ferried back to San Francisco without any passengers on board.
Perhaps flying the plane between San Francisco and London Heathrow was the key to success for this airplane? Nope. After flying to London on June 13, the aircraft was once again grounded due to mechanical issues and had to be ferried back to San Francisco for the fourth time.
Now, aviation insider JonNYC on X shares that the aircraft has been sent to Moses Lake, Washington State, a massive Boeing facility, which, until only recently, was known as Boeing’s ‘Shadow Factory’ where unwanted planes were parked up.
That doesn’t seem to be the intention in this case, though. United is desperate to get the plane operational, but the issues impacting this aircraft, described by JonNYC as “not minor,” can’t be fixed by the airline’s own engineers.
OK, so now that I know what the issue it; yes, not minor.
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) June 20, 2026
should be a straightforward repair it seems like, but taking it back to Boeing is interesting.
Not sure if some of the other 6 789P will be going as well at some point (no indication of that presently.)
Thankfully, it appears that the fix, when performed by Boeing’s own mechanics, should be relatively straightforward, although there’s no timeframe for when the aircraft is due to return to United.
Although some teething issues should be expected with a new aircraft, the problems facing N61101 appear to be a lot worse than what an airline would ordinarily anticipate. And it’s not just this Boeing 787-9 that has been having more than its fair share of maintenance breakdowns.
Another Boeing 787-9 in with United’s Elevated interiors (registration: N61104) has also been having a “good amount” of issues, while American Airlines has also been dealing with problems with its brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
United’s new 787-9s feature 56 Polaris Business Class suites with sliding privacy doors, along with eight Polaris Studio seats, which are a brand new concept for United – essentially a ‘Business Class Plus’ product with larger seats, more legroom and an upgraded service.
The premium heavy airplane also features 35 Premium Plus seats, and just 123 economy seats (39 of which are Economy Plus seats with extra legroom). The aircraft is the template for what United’s long-haul, widebody passenger experience will look like for years to come.
