Adds "It'll Fly When It Flies, So Knock It Off"

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson is usually a pretty affable sort of guy... but when a reporter for an aviation news service recently asked him  for the millionth time whether the oft-delayed 787 Dreamliner would actually fly by late in the second quarter -- finally meeting a timeline given by the planemaker, after three earlier missed promises -- Carson lost his cool a little.

"Okay, I've had it!" Carson said, his tone even but his eyes fiery. "I'm getting sick of you media types slamming our timeframes for the Dreamliner. Enough already with the Dreamliner jokes! I'm also tired of the nicknames -- 'Nightmareliner,' 'Delayliner,' 'Seven-late-seven,' that sort of thing. Ha ha, okay, you're so clever. Here's a cookie, now move on already.

"Here's the scoop: it'll fly when it flies, so knock it off," Carson continued, his voice rising slightly. "It may fly by the end of the second quarter. Or it may fly today -- hah, on April 1st, wouldn't that give you jackals something to write about?"

When asked a follow-up question -- "Is there any truth to rumors Boeing is working on a revised 767 variant to replace the 787?" - Carson stormed out of the reception area, muttering something to the effect of "I'm going to go fly my Cub, you can go fly your..."

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