CHICAGO — Boeing Co. said Tuesday that its schedule for the 787 Dreamliner remains on track, and it does not envision further delays in the much-ballyhooed airplane.
Officials of the aerospace company reaffirmed the latest schedule in a conference call updating the 787 program’s status, two months after it pushed back flight testing and initial deliveries of the aircraft by six months.
Many industry observers ultimately anticipate additional delays, which are common with new airplanes.
Scott Carson, head of Boeing’s Seattle-based commercial airplane manufacturing division, acknowledged the company still is “ironing out significant supply-chain wrinkles” but said there are no revisions to the latest schedule.
The 787, Boeing’s first newly designed jet since airlines started flying the 777 in 1995, will be the world’s first large commercial airplane made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than more traditional aluminum. Boeing says it will be cheaper to maintain and offer better fuel efficiency and more passenger comforts than comparable planes flying today.
