Boeing has reiterated its schedule for the 787 in the face of a Goldman Sachs report that claims the new twinjet faces a fourth delay.
The US airframer is focused on getting power on “sometime in the early beginning of the second quarter”, first flight at the “end of the second quarter” and first delivery “in early 2009”, said Boeing VP marketing Randy Tinseth this morning at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference in Orlando, Florida.
Boeing says it is “clearly working” through the problem with global production and that four aircraft are in Everett and in good condition.
On 16 January Boeing announced the latest delay, citing the need to replace thousands of temporary fasteners and install missing parts on aircraft that were supposed to arrive at its Everett, Washington facility fully assembled and stuffed with systems.
A new plan and schedule will be ready “some time later this quarter”, assures Tinseth.
He says the company is working closely with the supply chain on that schedule, “taking time” and doing it right. “The schedule we have today, I believe, is much better than we’ve had in the past," he says.
A total 21 787s "are at some point in production", Tinseth explains.
Customers of the 787 have been forced to study – and in some cases – already implement contingency plans in light of the delay in delivery. Tinseth says Boeing will meet and work with customers on a solution to some of their needs for interim lift. But the task may not be simple, as the market for widebody lift is tight.
"We are going to have to look at some very creative things to meet shortfalls if we can,” he says.
Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: FlightGlobal.com
