Boeing 787 deliveries delayed ….again!

Geoffrey Thomas in the Australian reports that the delivery by Boeing of their new 787’s may be an additional six months late, which will result in the aircraft manufacturer facing a hostile reaction and more claims from customer airlines.

Jetstar executives confirmed this week that the airline’s first 787 is not now expected until May 2010, 21 months later than the original schedule.

The delay confirms that there has been further slippage in the program due to brake control issues.

Jetstar and parent Qantas have ordered 65 787s and the original schedule called for delivery of one a month from August this year with the first 15 going to Jetstar for its proposed southern European operations.

When Boeing announced its third delay in the 787 program in April this year, Jetstar’s first delivery – ship 21 -ad slipped to November 2009, which is 15 months late.

Boeing subsequently encountered power supply and brake software problems.

While the issues were resolved in time for the company’s June power-on goal, the brake software problems lingered until September this year, according to Boeing insiders.

The 787’s brake control monitoring system is supplied by Crane Aerospace to GE Aviation Systems, and GE says there are no outstanding issues.

A GE spokesperson said last week that the software was in the Crane and Boeing labs and had been running well.

Boeing’s 787 is the first commercial airliner to use electric brakes, which have superior self-checking capabilities, in place of conventional, hydraulically actuated brakes. It is expected to be far more reliable.

The first flight and first delivery of the 787 have been further complicated and delayed by the soon-to-be-resolved strike by Boeing machinists. Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said last week: “The longer the strike goes, the longer it will take to get the production system back to where it was before the strike.

“We were on schedule (for a 787 fourth quarter first flight), pre-strike.”

During the third calendar quarter Boeing completed 787 hydraulic testing and high pressure testing. It also started testing the landing gear and flight control testing.

The company began assembly of the fourth flight-test aircraft.

Mr McNerney said that Boeing’s 787 program’s supply chain has “largely healed up” and had caught up before the strike, which started on September 6.

Boeing’s ongoing 787 production problems have not only delayed the first flight and delivery of the 787 but also the ramp-up of production with some deliveries stretching out up to an average of 24 months. This will severely affect the Qantas Group’s expansion and fleet replacement plans.

In September, launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) confirmed Boeing’s ambitious production ramp-up goals for the 787 would not be achieved.

ANA said in a statement that instead of receiving seven aircraft a year by 2015, it would receive six a year until 2017.

It stated that delays to the airline ranged from 14 to 36 months, with an average of 24 months.

Last month Jetstar’s new CEO Bruce Buchanan said he had doubts that Boeing would meet its current delivery commitment of November 2009, suggesting January 2010 was more likely.

Boeing has been examining production options, including increased investment, to significantly increase production beyond the projected 12 a month, and Boeing is now quoting a 2020 delivery date for new orders for the 787.

A Boeing spokesperson in Seattle told The Australian in September that availability for new orders of the 787 was “around the end of the next decade”.

“We have previously announced that we will reach a 10-per-month rate on the 787 in 2012 but as we gain greater knowledge about this new production process and our partners’ capabilities, we will continue to assess how we improve availability,” the spokesman said.

“We do expect to increase to higher rates as the production system stabilises.”

Boeing has repeatedly declined to comment on the current 787 delivery while the strike continues and a briefing is expected later next week on the plane.

The company has sold 903 787s to 54 customers, with options for a further 306, plus 155 “price right” positions.

Boeing is under intense pressure from existing customers to meet agreed delivery dates and airline executives that have spoken to The Australian suggest that it ought to be moving to a production rate of 14 per month as soon as possible, enabling it to build 1612 by the close of 2020, rather than the forecast 1277 it can produce under the existing schedule.

A Report byy The Mole