According to reports around Air Travel News Online, and even The Wall Street Journal, Boeing is set to announce another delay in the first flight of the new 787 Dreamliner, which will now be scheduled for June 2008 instead of the original September 2007. It is reported that Boeing will announce today that they will not deliver any 787 to their customers this year. The first plane was to be delivered to Japanese carrier ANA sometime in May, just in time before the Beijing Olympics. This further delay puts the plans of delivering 109 (!) planes to customers in 2009 also in jeopardy.
Boeing shares have dropped yesterday based on this information, which at this point is coming from an unknown source. The company staged an elaborate international rollout ceremony in July, but the aircraft it unveiled was held together by numerous temporary fasteners and did not include flight control system software and other key parts. The manufacturer has detailed numerous problems with its global supply chain. Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson has said that “traveled work” from suppliers arrived at its final assembly plant in Everett “out of sequence” and with inadequate documentation. It also has contended with a global fastener shortage.
Boeing announced the first delay of 6 months in October 2007.
by balint01
Earlier articles about the Dreamliner
Airline world 