This story has moved on while I have been travelling back from NBAA and has been slightly amended as a result…
Two seemingly unrelated, yet interconnected, stories are breaking within minutes of one another this evening.
Flight is reporting that first flight of the oft-delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner is still expected to happen in the last quarter of this year, and the Seattle Times is reporting that the airframer has also resumed negotiations with its largest Union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has been on strike for more than a month.
2008 first flight for 787 Dreamliner still the target says Boeing
By Mary KirbyBoeing is maintaining that the 787’s maiden flight will occur during the fourth quarter of this year.
A Boeing spokesman stated the airframer will have “more specific airplane performance data following flight testing. That’s scheduled to happen first quarter 2009.”
However the spokesman went on to clarify that Boeing are still aiming for a 2008 first flight: “When I was referring to flight testing in the first quarter, I was referring to performance flight testing. We are still planning first flight for the fourth quarter.”
Boeing, Machinists will resume talks in monthlong strike
By Dominic GatesFollowing a top-level meeting this afternoon, Boeing and the Machinists union have agreed to go back to the table and to resume contract negotiations — though the strike will continue.
International Association of Machinists (IAM) leaders Mark Blondin and Tom Wroblewski met in Everett with Boeing commercial airplanes chief executive Scott Carson, labor vice president Doug Kight and chief company negotiator Tom Easley.
The agreement comes on day 33 of the strike by 27,000 machinists, which has halted aircraft and parts production in the Puget Sound region, in Portland and in Wichita, Kan.
Uncertainty has ruled over this last month on both the 787 program and IAM strike. Let’s hope that these latest developments produce some clarity for Boeing, its employees and its customers.
Image credit: FlightBlogger
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.