Boeing delays delivery of 787
— -- In a conference call, top Boeing officials blamed the poor quality of some of the outsourced production work and a worldwide shortage of metal fasteners to bolt pieces of the plane together.
Just last month, Boeing postponed initial flight testing of its flagship 787 but said it could deliver the first plane to Japanese airline ANA by May 2008 as planned. On Wednesday, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said that flight testing will not start until after March 2008. "We are disappointed and deeply regret the impact on our customers," McNerney said.
The 787 delay is Boeing's longest in introducing a new plane, exceeding the three-month delay Boeing had delivering the first 747-400 jumbo jet, said aerospace consultant Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va.
Even with the six-month delay, Boeing said it expects to produce 109 Dreamliners in 2009, just three fewer than planned, a claim that was met with some skepticism.
"That's pretty unrealistic," Aboulafia said. "At least the aircraft itself still looks like a great performer. The only issues concern development and manufacturing. The thing that would make me panic is negative news about the aircraft's performance."
The twin-engine, double-aisle 787 is the first jetliner with a fuselage built entirely of man-made composite material. It's designed to be lighter, faster and more fuel-efficient than its predecessors. European rival Airbus is years away from having a direct competitor.
Designed for about 250 passengers, the 787 has garnered 710 orders, a record for a plane that hasn't yet flown.
But to produce it quickly in large numbers, Boeing outsourced more of the work to U.S. and foreign suppliers than ever before. It contracted out 70% of the production, and that, in turn, required an unprecedented amount of coordination.
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