Boeing 787 Airplane

Despite Boeing's strenuous efforts to reduce the 787 Dreamliner's weight, the plane weighed more than expected when it first rolled out two years ago. Days before the plane's maiden flight last week, Boeing published a document for airlines that suggests to some weight-watching industry analysts that the 787 still exceeds its original target weight by a few tons. Airlines have ordered 840 of the pioneering composite-plastic planes based on Boeing's projections for its range, payload and fuel efficiency -- all reduced by added weight.

Despite Boeing's strenuous efforts to reduce the 787 Dreamliner's weight, the plane weighed more than expected when it first rolled out two years ago. Days before the plane's maiden flight last week, Boeing published a document for airlines that suggests to some weight-watching industry analysts that the 787 still exceeds its original target weight by a few tons. Airlines have ordered 840 of the pioneering composite-plastic planes based on Boeing's projections for its range, payload and fuel efficiency -- all reduced by added weight.

When Boeing Co. unveiled plans to build the 787 Dreamliner, the aircraft was touted as revolutionary, a major technological shift in the way a plane is made and in the way it operates. But revolutions rarely come without a struggle. The 787 is now more than two years behind schedule and by some estimates is costing Boeing $4 billion more to develop than planned. The troubled jetliner has also set back other Boeing projects, analysts say, and has left some suppliers financially strapped.

At long last, Boeing Co.'s 787 passenger jet took to the skies Tuesday, making its maiden test flight and marking a major milestone in commercial aviation. Thousands of Boeing workers and journalists were on hand at Paine Field just north of Seattle to witness the takeoff of the Dreamliner, a 250-seat jetliner that promises to burn less fuel and last longer than other aircraft flying today. "This was a big step for Boeing," said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group Corp.

Boeing Co. unveiled its first fully assembled 787 on Sunday to an audience of thousands who packed into its wide-body assembly plant for the plane's extravagantly orchestrated premiere. With flight attendants on stage from each airline that has ordered the jet, the giant factory doors opened wide as the plane slowly moved into view to the strains of a song composed specially for the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.

Boeing Co. postponed the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner to mid-November to mid-December, about three months later than originally planned, putting pressure on its tight schedule to deliver the first plane in May next year. The delay, caused by problems programming the flight control software and a shortage of bolts, truncates Boeing's already shortened test flight schedule. But the plane maker is holding to its delivery target and said the delay would not affect financial forecasts.

Two key Boeing Co. defense executives have been quietly transferred to the troubled 787 jetliner program, suggesting that problems with developing the plane could be worse than the company has revealed. In what some analysts said was an unusual move, the two executives were placed on "special assignment" with the commercial aircraft division in Seattle in early January, two weeks before Boeing announced that production problems had forced a further delay in initial deliveries of the Dreamliner.

Boeing Co. will delay the first test flight of the 787 Dreamliner beyond the fourth quarter because of the just-ended machinists strike. No new time frame for the flight has been established, a spokeswoman for the Chicago company said. The 787 had already been delayed three times and was 15 months late before an eight-week-long machinists strike that ended Sunday. Boeing said Tuesday that the program suffered another setback after it discovered that about 3% of the fasteners used to hold the jets together had been improperly installed.

And you thought a six-hour flight delay was bad. Aerospace giant Boeing Co. said Wednesday that it would be six months late delivering its new 787 Dreamliner to airlines. In an embarrassing setback, Boeing said carriers wouldn't be able to start flying the highly touted Dreamliner until the end of 2008 instead of next May as originally scheduled. Most carriers won't see the plane until 2009 or later, Boeing said.

Shares of Boeing Co. edged up after tumbling earlier in the day amid reports that the world's second-largest commercial airplane maker may further postpone deliveries of its new 787 passenger jet. Chicago-based Boeing is expected to announce this month that the first planes may not be delivered until the summer of 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deliveries, overdue by more than two years, had already been postponed until late 2009. A Boeing spokeswoman said the company had not yet completed an assessment of its commercial aircraft operations after a machinists strike.

When Boeing Co. unveiled plans to build the 787 Dreamliner, the aircraft was touted as revolutionary, a major technological shift in the way a plane is made and in the way it operates. But revolutions rarely come without a struggle. The 787 is now more than two years behind schedule and by some estimates is costing Boeing $4 billion more to develop than planned. The troubled jetliner has also set back other Boeing projects, analysts say, and has left some suppliers financially strapped.

Boeing says it has halted production of large fuselage sections for the 787 Dreamliner, the latest problem for a delay-plagued airplane that the aerospace giant is counting on to be its next big moneymaker. Analysts have described the design of the 787 as revolutionary, due in large part to the use of advanced composite materials aimed at making the plane lighter and more fuel-efficient. But the design, coupled with a production shift that relies heavily on outside vendors, has put the 787 nearly two years behind schedule.

Shares of Boeing Co. edged up after tumbling earlier in the day amid reports that the world's second-largest commercial airplane maker may further postpone deliveries of its new 787 passenger jet. Chicago-based Boeing is expected to announce this month that the first planes may not be delivered until the summer of 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deliveries, overdue by more than two years, had already been postponed until late 2009. A Boeing spokeswoman said the company had not yet completed an assessment of its commercial aircraft operations after a machinists strike.

Boeing Co. will delay the first test flight of the 787 Dreamliner beyond the fourth quarter because of the just-ended machinists strike. No new time frame for the flight has been established, a spokeswoman for the Chicago company said. The 787 had already been delayed three times and was 15 months late before an eight-week-long machinists strike that ended Sunday. Boeing said Tuesday that the program suffered another setback after it discovered that about 3% of the fasteners used to hold the jets together had been improperly installed.

Delays in Boeing Co.'s 787 program have given the company extra time to fine-tune the plane's electronics and other systems, lowering the risk that it will encounter problems during flight testing, the head of its commercial jet division said. Speaking in New York at an aerospace and defense conference, Scott Carson said Boeing had "great confidence that the airplane will be ready to go as we've scheduled it."

Two key Boeing Co. defense executives have been quietly transferred to the troubled 787 jetliner program, suggesting that problems with developing the plane could be worse than the company has revealed. In what some analysts said was an unusual move, the two executives were placed on "special assignment" with the commercial aircraft division in Seattle in early January, two weeks before Boeing announced that production problems had forced a further delay in initial deliveries of the Dreamliner.

Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it was still working through "wrinkles" in the supply chain for its new 787 Dreamliner and hoped to deliver the first aircraft in late 2008. There are still "significant supply-chain wrinkles," said Scott Carson, chief of Boeing's commercial airplane group. Parts shortages are declining and there's greater availability of fasteners needed to assemble the aircraft, Chicago-based Boeing said.

Boeing Co., citing unresolved production problems, said Wednesday that it would be unable to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner passenger plane until early 2009 -- more than nine months later than it had promised airlines. The latest holdup marks another embarrassing setback for Boeing, which had insisted even as recently as last month that there would be no further delays after having pushed back delivery of the first 787 by six months in October.

Boeing Co. said Thursday that it finalized a deal with British Airways, notching 790 orders for its long-awaited 787 Dreamliner plane during the last three years. British Airways' order for 24 Dreamliners gives the plane one of the industry's most successful launches ever -- even though the airliner has yet to take flight. The Chicago-based aerospace company expects to fly the first 787 around the end of the first quarter of 2008 and begin deliveries in late November or December.