Boeing's 787 Delayed, Again

The manufacturer cited supply chain and manufacturing problems as causes for putting off delivery of the new plane to both ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Qantas who were the first scheduled to receive the new model. The plane is the first for Boeing that uses major components built by other manufacturers in other countries, then sent to Everett WA for final assembly.

Some issues arose for Boeing in the need to re-engineer some of the elements in order to reconcile them with the actual engineering required for final assembly. The company had been unaware that it would have to re-do work that should have been completed by its manufacturing partners.

ANA had issue schedules based on promised delivery of the 787 Dreamliner. While the delivery delay won’t hurt the Qantas bottom line, the airline is contemplating claiming damages as provided in its contract with Boeing. Qantas has five of the planes on order with options to purchase as many as 30 more. In a statement on the delay, ANA said it was "extremely regrettable." The carrier said,"We will work with Boeing on the revised schedule and decide how to proceed from there."