Fairchild Aerospace has slipped 728JET development by six months because the 70-85-seat regional jet's performance would have failed to meet the requirements of launch customer Lufthansa CityLine.
The US manufacturer claimed at the February Asian Aerospace 2000 air show in Singapore that the primary driver behind the decision to delay service entry to November 2002 was a request from potential 728JET customers to change the cabin configuration.
This has been refuted by Lufthansa, which has "accepted" the delay, but had hoped the programme would remain on track for deliveries to start in March 2002.
The manufacturer confirms it is to refine the design of the 728JET, to reduce drag, improve wing aerodynamics and increase the aircraft's gross weight, in addition to relocating the rear doors to increase the size of the passenger cabin.
The hold-up will allow Fairchild to make changes to the passenger cabin for an extra row of seats. Lufthansa CityLine agreed to the cabin changes, but says the aircraft would not have met its performance requirements without the aerodynamic refinements.
"Fairchild has given us an assurance that the eight 728JETs required for the summer 2003 timetable will be delivered on schedule," says the airline.
Source: Flight International
