Another major delay appears certain for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, the record-selling jet that has been plagued by production woes, the most recent of which have been wrongly installed fasteners and a two-month strike by Boeing workers.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the first of the largely composite jets isn’t likely to be delivered before mid-2010, more than two years behind schedule.
But a source close to the program said the jet’s launch could occur even later, especially if flight-testing for the all-new aircraft takes longer than the aggressive schedule that Chicago-based Boeing has planned.
Boeing is still studying the full extent of its production challenges and hasn’t yet finalized a revised production schedule for the 787, nor set a date for when it will announce those changes, said Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach.
–Julie Johnsson
