Would Push First Flight To Late June, No 2008 Deliveries

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 01.15.08 1845 EST: Several sources, including The Wall Street Journal and Seattle Post-Intelligencer aerospace reporter James Wallace, say Boeing will announce a second delay to its 787 Dreamliner program early Wednesday.

"I have just confirmed from an industry source that Boeing will soon announce more delays in the 787," Wallace writes on his P-I blog. "As much as another three months, the source said, which would push the important power-on milestone from late January to late March, and first flight to around the end of June."

Wallace adds the latest delay will also prevent the delivery of the first 787 to launch customer All Nippon Airways this year.

That timeframe is in line with what was reported earlier in the Journal. That paper says the imminent announcement comes as Boeing continues to struggle with parts shortages, and other supplier issues.

"I would be surprised if a delay is anything less than three months," said John Plueger, president and COO of aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp. He said ILFC has been expecting more delays.

As ANN reported last week, several analysts predicted the planemaker might need to once again push off its development schedule for the composite-bodied aircraft... though earlier estimates pegged the additional delay at three weeks, which may now appear overly-optimistic.

Boeing announced a six-month delay to the 787 program last October -- a move that didn't draw much fire from airlines with orders for the Dreamliner. Whether the airlines' reaction would be as amicable this time around remains to be seen.

Stay tuned...

FMI: www.boeing.com