Dreamliner: a nightmare?
Cloudy thinking may have caused the long-overdue delivery of the problem-plagued Dreamliner, which is now nearly three years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.
“The 787 Dreamliner passenger jet has been a non-stop frustration for Boeing Co., disappointing airlines, passengers and hundreds of unpaid parts suppliers,” writes the Tribune Newspapers.
Disappointed buyers enamored by the most advanced, fuel-stingy passenger ever have ordered 847 of the planes at about US$200 million each. But delivery has been delayed six times since the original date of May 2008.
The result is that airlines have put off new routes, keeping older planes in the air longer.
Fires, labor problems and cost-cutting efforts were among the reasons for the various delays.
The design proved difficult because it is the first large passenger jet to have more than half its structure made of a high-tech blend of lightweight composite material instead of aluminum.
Boeing says the new material will burn 20 percent less fuel than similar jetliners. Maintenance and repair costs are also lower.
Boeing refused to comment for the newspaper article but its stock has fallen and it says there will be another delay announced this month. When the first plane is delivered, it is scheduled to go to Japan’s All Nippon Airways.
By David Wilkening
David
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