Boeing ran into turbulence on its highly touted 787 Dreamliner programme, announcing a six-month delay for the new jet seen as the future profit driver for the United States aviation giant.
Boeing, in a dogfight with Europe’s Airbus for supremacy in the civil aviation market, said the first deliveries will not come until December 2008. The first test flights were pushed back to next March.
“We are disappointed over the schedule changes,” said Boeing chief executive officer Jim McNerney.
But the CEO said that despite the delays, “we remain confident in the design of the 787, and in the fundamental innovation and technologies that underpin it.”
Up to now, Boeing had been gaining ground with the wildly successful Dreamliner programme as its archrival Airbus delayed its new jets coming onto the market.
To date, Boeing has 710 orders for the new fuel-efficient aircraft from 50 airline companies, representing more than $110-billion at catalogue prices.
But in early September, Boeing had already been forced to push back the 787’s maiden flight, citing challenges with out-of-sequence production work, including parts shortages, and remaining software and systems integration activities.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Scott Carson told analysts on a conference call that that coordination of production at various locations around the world has proven to be more complex than believed.
“It’s a matter of starting up the supply chain rather than a fatal flaw in the supply chain,” he said.
Additionally, he said, “We felt it was prudent to add margin back into our flight test programme” which had been on a tight schedule.
He said he believed this new schedule “is achievable, and we are all aligned to make it happen”.
Carson said the company still expects to deliver 108 of the Dreamliners by the end of 2009, only three fewer than originally planned. Executives said about 35 of the deliveries will be pushed back from 2008 to 2009.
Boeing shares slid over 2,7% on the news to $98,68.
Kimberly DuBord at Briefing.com called the delay “a serious setback for the Dreamliner programme and Boeing” that should cause investors to rethink Boeing’s lofty share price.
“Boeing also runs the risk of losing credibility with the street and investors, which have long suspected a delay while the company remained adamant it could meet targets,” she said.
“It should be said, however, that Boeing is doing the right thing. There is a lot at stake and giving itself more breathing room for tests is prudent. It’s critical that Boeing retain its production schedule at this point.”
The Dreamliner, Boeing’s first new model in 13 years, takes advantage of the advances made in aviation technology in the past decade, using high-tech composites instead of aluminum.
Up to 50% of the primary structure of the plane — including the fuselage and wing — are made of composites such as carbon-fibre, which reduce its weight and make the aircraft more fuel-efficient.
Boeing, which aims to build about 2 000 Dreamliners over the next two decades, maintains that it will consume 20% less fuel than similar-sized planes already on the market.
The promise of lower fuel costs at a time of rising oil prices in a sector where profit margins are already razor-thin has whetted the appetites of several key players in the airline industry.
The Dreamliner comes in three models for both medium and long-haul flights with a seating capacity of between 210 to 330.
Able to fly up to 15 750km without refueling, it could easily manage a flight between New York and Manila, or Moscow and São Paulo, routes so far only open to bigger planes such as Boeing’s 777 or 747.
Boeing hopes the Dreamliner will be used to open up profitable flights between cities which so far have no direct links such as Seattle-Shanghai, Boston-Athens or Madrid-Manila.
The Dreamliner’s other innovations include greater levels of comfort for passengers, with bigger windows, higher humidity levels within the cabin expected to reduce passenger dehydration and a new anti-turbulence system.
The Boeing 787 will go into service well after the mammoth A380 from its European rival Airbus takes to the skies.
The first units of the world’s largest passenger plane, the double-decker superjumbo capable of seating up to 800 passengers, will be delivered to Singapore Airlines this month.
But the main rival for the Dreamliner is the Airbus A350, which is not expected to be ready to fly before 2013. – AFP