 |
| The 787 Dreamliner at the Boeing Everett, Washington State, final assembly factory in July 2007 - - - The Wall Street Journal says today that officials said on Wednesday (Oct 10, 2007) that the first Dreamliner -- which was covered in a shiny coat and unveiled on July 8th before a crowd of more than 15,000 invited guests -- was a shambles beneath the surface. The plane, held together by thousands of temporary fasteners, had to be largely disassembled after the ceremonies. Suppliers hadn't preinstalled wiring or other major components needed to make the system work smoothly. Once engineers got inside, it became evident that it would take more time to put the plane back together than anticipated. Photo Credit: Boeing Photo |
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Wednesday announced a six-month delay in its planned initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner due to continued challenges completing assembly of the first airplanes.
Deliveries of the strong-selling Dreamliner are now slated to begin in late November or December 2008, versus an original target of May 2008. First flight is now anticipated around the end of first quarter 2008.
In the past three years, Boeing has received 710 orders from 50 airlines for the fuel-efficient mid-range aircraft, which will carry between 225 and 300 passengers. The Airbus A350, which was delayed because of problems the European aircraft manufacturer had with its superjumbo A380, isn't expected to be launched until 2013 or later. Airbus is expected to deliver the first A380 next week to Singapore Airlines. It is a double-decker plane that can seat more than 550 passengers and is designed for long-haul routes.
Boeing has termed itself a systems integrator rather than an manufacturer as it has been viewed as remarkable for the degree to which Boeing has outsourced production around the world. Boeing itself is responsible for about 10 per cent by value –– tail fin and final assembly. The rest is done by 40 partners, with the wings built in Japan, the carbon composite fuselage in Italy and the US and the landing gear in France.
The launch delay will raise questions on the operation of the new work model in practice. (See Finfacts July 2007 report: Boeing celebrates the premiere of the 787 Dreamliner; Company terms itself systems integrator not manufacturer - 70% built outside the United States)
The Wall Street Journal says that in return for investing more upfront and taking on a share of the development costs, suppliers have been given major sections of the airplane to build. The wing sections are made in Japan, while factories in Italy, South Carolina and Wichita, Kan., assemble the bulk of the fuselage. The parts are flown aboard modified 747 cargo planes to Everett, Wash., for final assembly.
Boeing says that when the system is up and running, it will eventually be able to snap together Dreamliners in as little as three days, in a manner not unlike how plastic model airplanes are assembled.
Boeing officials say the system has reduced the company's upfront development costs by billions of dollars. The downside, they acknowledge, is that Boeing has less control over the day-to-day progress of the Dreamliner program than it has had for any new airliner in its history.
Boeing said on Wednesday that the financial impact of the Dreamliner delay would not be material to earnings and that its earnings guidance for 2007 and 2008 remained unchanged.
"We are disappointed over the schedule changes that we are announcing today," said Boeing Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney. "Notwithstanding the challenges that we are experiencing in bringing forward this game-changing product, we remain confident in the design of the 787, and in the fundamental innovation and technologies that underpin it."
Early last month, Boeing announced a delay in the planned first flight of the 787 citing ongoing challenges with out-of-sequence production work, including parts shortages, and remaining software and systems integration activities. The company also acknowledged increasing risk to the delivery schedule, indicating that the margin to accommodate unexpected issues had been eliminated. The newly revised schedule for first flight and first delivery addresses the production challenges and restores margin for the program to deal with issues that may be uncovered in final ground or flight testing. Boeing also said on Wednesday that flight control software and systems integration activities are not pacing items in the revised schedule for first flight.
"While we have made some progress over the past several weeks completing work on our early production airplanes and improving parts availability across the production system, the pace of that progress has not been sufficient to support our previous plans for first delivery or first flight," said Scott Carson, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We deeply regret the impact these delays will have on our customers, and we are committed to working with them to minimize any disruption to their plans.
"The most important commitment we've made to our customers is to deliver an airplane that performs to their expectations over the long life of the program. These changes to our schedule will help ensure we do just that," Carson said.
