Boeing may further delay first deliveries of its flagship 787 Dreamliner by at least six months to account for the recent strike by union machinists and other snags, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Boeing’s current schedule calls for deliveries of the carbon-fiber based, fuel efficient Dreamliner to commence during the third quarter of next year. A new six-month delay, pushing initial deliveries of the 787 to the summer of 2010, on top of prior delays, could cost Boeing penalties and order cancellations, and possibly result in new orders for the nascent Airbus A350.
Initial deliveries of the A350 are expected sometime in 2013.
Personally, I don’t think that will be the case. Boeing’s problems with its prolonged labor strike and supply-chain come as no surprise to its customers. I think that Boeing’s customers, especially the 787′s early adopters such as All Nippon Airways, and its largest 787 customer, ILFC, expected that the 787′s manufacturing schedule would slip.
These companies understand how much this plane changes the face of commercial aviation, and I believe Boeing’s 895 firm orders for the Dreamliner will hold, and continue to increase over time.
