Trouble For The Dreamliner? Boeing Says No

The decision to close down its Connexion inflight internet business cost Boeing a bundle in the third quarter... as profits at the American aerospace manufacturer fell 31 percent compared to a year ago. That loss comes as Boeing reported its greatest sales increase in five years, with a 19 percent increase compared to a year ago.

Bloomberg reports deliveries also soared... with 100 planes heading out the door in the past three months. But the costs associated with dumping Connexion had a definite impact... with net income declining to $694 million, compared to $1.01 billion last year.

Some of the drop also came from an additional $1 billion investment in R & D for the upcoming 787 Dreamliner program... to insure that program hits its target dates, in a move CEO James McNerney called "pretty aggressive contingency planning."

"We are at that point in the 787 development program where weight is a dogged issue," McNerney said. "We know what we have to do there."

McNerney also acknowledged Boeing is working off one of eight contingency plans the company developed to handle potential issues with the Dreamliner project. For the moment, Boeing is handling much of the work originally meant to be delegated out to suppliers -- a common occurrence in the early stages of the development of a new airliner.

However, Boeing will have to get those duties back in suppliers' hands as soon as it can, in order to be able to hit its price and delivery targets for the composite-bodied airliner.

It's also difficult to ignore similar difficulties have stymied the Airbus A380 program -- although Boeing says its problems aren't nearly as extreme as those currently facing its European rival.

"We don't have the complexity on our plane that you see on the A380 behemoth," said Chief Financial Officer James Bell.

FMI: www.boeing.com