Alenia CEO Says Company Has Asked For 10+ Per Month

There's no denying Boeing has a hit on its hands with the upcoming 787 Dreamliner; now, the American planemaker has to figure out how to meet that demand, and get planes into its customers' fleets. And that may prove problematic.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports Boeing is asking one of its suppliers to step up efforts to produce fuselage segments for the 787. Currently, Finmeccanica SpA's Alenia Aeronautica is contracted to provide Boeing with seven fuselages per month; the planemaker is asking for as many as 10.

Alenia is spending over $720 million to produce several segments of the Dreamliner's body, including two fuselage barrel sections and the horizontal stabilizer assembly. In all, Alenia is slated to build 14 percent of the 787's structure.

"We are now planning seven a month and also discussing the possibility of 10 a month," said Alenia Chief Executive Giuseppe Giordo. "If things continue as they are with 787 orders, we will have to start talking to Boeing about more."

A spokeswoman with Boeing declined to comment on the company's 787 production plans, only stating any such decision on a production increase would be made this summer.

The clock is definitely ticking for Boeing. With the first flight of a prototype scheduled for later this year, Boeing's current timetable calls for deliveries to begin in late 2008. The planemaker has firm orders for 464 planes from 37 airlines.

There have already been setbacks. Last month, Boeing acknowledged a small crack developed on a horizontal stab, produced by Alenia, during a bird-strike simulation. Boeing has also committed an additional $1 billion to the Dreamliner program, in an effort to keep other suppliers on track.

FMI: www.boeing.com