For Chinese customers, the 787's current woes just add to another. Completed 787s for China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines—three each as of December—have been sitting idle, awaiting a type certificate that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was not expected to issue until March.

The Chinese were ready to issue the type certificate some years ago but, because of the 787's development delays, the results of its preparatory work expired before the aircraft could go into service, industry sources say. The grounding can only further delay CAAC approval of an aircraft that has considerable value in China for opening long, thin routes across the Pacific, to Europe and, supporting an emerging trend, to Africa.