Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Would Push First Flight To Late June, No 2008 Deliveries
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 01.15.08 1845 EST:
Several sources, including The Wall Street Journal and Seattle
Post-Intelligencer aerospace reporter James Wallace, say Boeing
will announce a second delay to its 787 Dreamliner program early
Wednesday.
"I have just confirmed from an industry source that Boeing will
soon announce more delays in the 787," Wallace writes on his P-I
blog. "As much as another three months, the source said, which
would push the important power-on milestone from late January to
late March, and first flight to around the end of June."
Wallace adds the latest delay will also prevent the delivery of
the first 787 to launch customer All Nippon Airways this year.
That timeframe is in line with what was reported earlier in the
Journal. That paper says the imminent announcement comes as Boeing
continues to struggle with parts shortages, and other supplier
issues.
"I would be surprised if a delay is anything less than three
months," said John Plueger, president and COO of aircraft lessor
International Lease Finance Corp. He said ILFC has been expecting
more delays.
As ANN reported last week,
several analysts predicted the planemaker might need to once again
push off its development schedule for the composite-bodied
aircraft... though earlier estimates pegged the additional delay at
three weeks, which may now appear overly-optimistic.
Boeing announced a six-month delay to the 787 program last
October -- a move that didn't draw much fire from airlines with
orders for the Dreamliner. Whether the airlines' reaction would be
as amicable this time around remains to be seen.
Stay tuned...
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]