October 11, 2007 - The Boeing Company has since announced that the Boeing Company’s  would delay its initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner by six months is a blow to a program that had been seen as the most successful in commercial aviation.

People are anxiously awaiting to enjoy the best of this latest technology, its delaying news shall naturally disappoint the travelers.

Though it is reported that the company’s stock has fallen below $100 a share yesterday, Boeing officials are confident that the program remains on track for the long haul. Analysts as well saw the delay as more of a temporary setback, and not of the same magnitude as the problems that its rival, Airbus, has experienced in producing its superjumbo A380, which has also fallen behind schedule, but by two years.

Boeing’s delivery delay was caused by the problems of Boeing’s global chain of suppliers in completing their work, as well as unanticipated difficulties in its flight-control software.

This delivery delay comes after Boeing announced last month a three-month delay in the plane’s flight-test program caused, in part, by a worldwide shortage of fasteners that hold together the plane’s fuselage, wing and tail sections.

“We are very disappointed over the schedule changes that we are announcing today,” said W. James McNerney Jr., Boeing’s chief executive. “Notwithstanding the challenges that we are experiencing in bringing forward this game-changing product, we remain confident in the design of the 787, and in the fundamental innovation and technologies that underpin it.”

With 710 orders worth $100 billion from 50 airlines, the Dreamliner has been the fastest-selling commercial aircraft in history. It is also one of the most innovative. It is being made, in pieces, all over the world, with only the final assembly taking place at Boeing’s plant in Everett, Wash.

Its fuselage will be the first to make extensive use of composite materials rather than traditional aluminum. It will use new energy-efficient engines, and its interior cabin is being designed to provide more humidity and bigger windows for passenger comfort.

The first delivery of the planes, to All Nippon Airways of Japan, is now scheduled for late November or early December 2008, rather than the original date of May. The first test flight will take place at the end of March 2008, rather than at the end of this year, Boeing said.
Though there may not be any effect on the company’s earnings for 2008, the announcement is a clear setback in the image of their program. (IR Summary).

While Boeing said the delays would not lower the company’s earnings for this year or for 2008, the announcement was clearly a setback in the image of a program that had appeared to be nearly flawless in its execution. It also showed that Boeing, which had the program on a highly ambitious schedule, might have been overly optimistic about what it could deliver — and when.

“Annoyance is the first word that comes to mind,” said Howard Rubel, an analyst with Jefferies & Company. “It’s annoying because they have done so many good things to get this program right. But this provides that the program is a little more complicated than they expected.”

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/business/11boeing.html?th&emc=th