Now Boeing (with the 787) knows how Airbus (with the A380) feels....

[marmar]

:hurts:


from Bloomberg:



Boeing 787 Delivery May Slip Again, JPMorgan Says (Update1)

By Andrea Rothman

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. has to make design changes to its 787 Dreamliner that may further delay the plane's entry into service, JPMorgan said, citing International Lease Finance Corp., the new model's biggest customer.

ILFC Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told a JPMorgan conference yesterday that the state of the 787 program is ``not pretty'' and that he doesn't expect the first plane to be handed over until the third quarter of next year, Joseph B. Nadol, an analyst at the bank, wrote in a note to investors. Boeing, the world's second-biggest commercial aircraft maker, has said the Dreamliner will be ready ``early'' in 2009.

The Dreamliner, originally due for first delivery this May, has already been twice delayed by parts shortages. One of the main reasons for another likely delay, Hazy told investors, is that Boeing needs to make structural design changes to the center wing box, Nadol wrote. ILFC has ordered 74 Dreamliners, making it the biggest buyer for Chicago-based Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft.

``The changes will require retrofits of the first several 787s produced,'' Nadol wrote, meaning that Boeing will have to go back and rebuild parts of the planes already assembled. The wing box is a section inside the fuselage where the two wings are joined.

ILFC, based in Los Angeles, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. It is owned by American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets.

Michael Tull, a London-based Boeing spokesman, said the company is ``conducting a thorough and far-reaching assessment'' of the 787 delivery schedule. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aY_Lz39j6srw&refer=home