Mon, Jun 02, 2008
Yet Another Disappointment For The Dawdling Dreamliner
The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Russian carrier Aeroflot
won't touch down in the country until 2016 at the earliest,
according to an announcement from Aeroflot last week reported by
Reuters. The expected 28-month delay for Aeroflot is yet another
result of the string of delays that have kept the airliner from
first flight.
As reported by ANN, Boeing
announced its latest delays in April, citing changes to the
airplane and problems with suppliers as the cause. Customer
response continues to grow increasingly impatient for the
manufacturer, as Boeing works stridently to accomplish power-on of
the first 787 later this month.
In fact, original Boeing production plans for the airliner
planned to hand over the first 787 to Japan's All Nippon Airways
this month -- a far cry from the now projected first delivery in
the third quarter of 2009.
On average, subsequent deliveries have been pushed back 20
months. But Aeroflot's general director Valery Okulov told
reporters the Russian airline expects its delivery to take even
longer than average. "We have received official notification, the
delay is 28 months," he said to Reuters.
Some of that delay can be attributed to Aeroflot's own dawdling,
as well. Aeroflot's 22-plane order in September 2007 was the end
to an odd chain of events, starting with an original order earlier
in the year being cancelled by the airline -- victim to mounting
tensions between the US and Russia over foreign policy
differences.
That news was followed by Aeroflot signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding for 22 A350 XWBs, the Airbus competitor for the 787.
Many thought the Boeing deal was lost at that point... until
Aeroflot announced in June it would, after all, order an equal
number of Dreamliners.
Boeing currently claims 857 net orders for the plane, debuted in
a flashy ceremony on July 8, 2007.
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