The Wall Street Journal has published a news alert stating that sources close to the 787 program have said that the first flight of the 787 may be delayed until June and an official announcement is coming soon.
Developments to follow.
6:33 PM: Asked to comment on reports about the delay, Northwest says, “Boeing has notified Northwest that they will be making an announcement tomorrow.” Northwest is deferring all comment until after the announcement is made.
6:13 PM: Sources tell FlightBlogger that airline customers began to be notified about the delay this past weekend.
5:03 PM: James Wallace of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has confirmed the delay according to his sources.
UPDATED, 1 p.m.:
Boeing will announce the latest delay Wednesday morning before the markets open, sources confirm. Boeing will say it will not be able to complete flight tests in order to deliver planes this year. So no 787 deliveries in 2008. It also will say it can’t ramp up production fast enough to deliver 109 jets by the end of 2009, my sources say. This development is significant and will have a major impact on the stock price. Boeing shares are already tumbling late this afternoon in response to a story about the latest 787 delay that was just posted by the Wall Street Journal.
Boeing executives will hold a conference call with analysts and media early Wednesday morning to explain the latest delay.
4:46 PM: All indications point to a potential announcement of some sort as early as tomorrow. The WSJ story is the first to directly target the 109 airframe delivery by the end of 2009 with concrete details.
According sources in Charleston, Dreamliner Two is being prepared for delivery by the end of this month. The level of assembly and completion of Dreamliner Two is “farther along than Airplane One” is right now in Everett. This leaves open the question as to whether or not Dreamliner Two will be the first 787 to fly.
4:20 PM: Boeing is telling reporters that the official comment is that, “We are declining comment.”
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.