Analyst Says About 1000

While Boeing still hopes to finally deliver the first Dreamliner to a customer next month, analysts are saying the company won't make a profit on the airplane until 1,000 of them are flying for customers.

That assessment comes from Bernstein Research in New York, which cites the company's three years of issues and delays in a report released August 16. Analyst Douglas Harned and his team also say compensation to less-than-satisfied buyers will add to the delay in turning a profit on the airplane. The St. Louis Business Journal reports that Harned says that will drag on Boeing's bottom line "for years to come," and could negatively affect margins on production of the planemaker's popular 737 and 777 lines.

Add to that the fact that Boeing made some sweetheart deals with buyers in the early days of the program, which made for a great-looking order book but now means lower prices are locked in for those buyers. Some have fixed-price options for upgrades to the 787-9, making those larger aircraft undervalued.

At the end of the day, the report says, Boeing can expect to see a profit on the Dreamliner not later than 2016, and perhaps before then. But, the report says, the company has to "execute well" for that to happen.

FMI: www.boeing.com