Airline CEO Expects First Plane In May 2008

Boeing has assured Mineo Yamamoto, president and chief executive of Japan's All Nippon Airways, that the long-awaited Dreamliner is on track to arrive on time.

Boeing executives, from Chairman and Chief Executive Jim McNerney on down, have emphatically said the program will meet that all-important commitment to its launch customer for the Dreamliner.

"There has been no talk about delays or anything like that," Yamamoto said in an interview Monday in Copenhagen, Denmark with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

After a series of proving flights, Yamamoto said, the airline will probably start passenger service with the plane within a couple of months of the first delivery, beginning with domestic routes.

Boeing's seeming self assurance is not without its critics. Some industry analysts are skeptical the carrier will pick up its first 787 next May; after all, new airplane programs are inherently filled with risks, as Airbus is currently suffering through with its A380.

Yamamoto said Boeing has been straight with his airline, providing regular updates on technical issues that still require resolution, such as weight. That is a marked departure from Airbus' handling of the A380 delays, which came as a surprise to many superjumbo customers.

As ANN reported, Boeing said last year the Dreamliner was overweight by about 2.5 tons. The planemaker says it is making progress, and the first plane delivered to All Nippon Airways -- the seventh assembled -- will be at the proper weight. The first six test planes will all be overweight, Boeing concedes, adding it won't know how much the 787 will actually weigh until the first plane is assembled.

"Of course weight is an issue," Yamamoto said. "But I'm sure we will get over that working together. There are many technical issues that we are working on as part of the program."

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.ana.co.jp/eng/