More 787 Delays On the Way???

Seems like we just cannot get enough of this 787 delay saga. Every week something new, something to cloud up the pretty picture of the 787. Again, not a shocker, as Boeing is trying to do something that EADS has been doing for a long time, manufacturing different components off-site and mating them together at the Boeing plant.

Nothing is official yet, however, a key 787 customer is predicting another six-month slip in deliveries and has, for the first time, raised the possibility that the 787's troubles extend beyond the production delays to design problems! Design problems plagued the A380 and officials from Boeing have adamantly denied the 787 has design flaw related delays and has maintained the delays are only because of production. If I was Boeing, I would be concerned that a key customer is seeing this from the outside looking in.

Steven Udvar-Hazy of International Lease Finance Corp (IFLC) has told a JPMorgan official that structural design changes have to be made to the 787's center wing box, which would require throwing the aircraft away RETROFITS to the first two flight test aircraft that are in production. He also predicted in his crystal ball that the 787 would not make its first flight until this fall and that another year would be needed for FAA certification. What this means to Boeing and Japan's All Nippon Airways is that the first 787 delivery would be pushed back until 3Q 2009, or 1.5 years behind the original date of May 2008.

I know this is not unheard of or a complete shocker, but it seems the delays are mounting for this great concept of an aircraft. Only time will tell. Expect a formal announcement from Boeing in April, after they conduct a detailed review of program missed milestones.