Boeing may face 3-4 month delay with 787 delivery (Plus A380 news)

The schedule for delivery was ambitious for sure and Boeing is saying that deliveries will be on time, but some are hinting at a 3-4 month delay in delivering its first plane to launch customer ANA.

However, Wall Street basicaly said "eh" and Boeing stock remained unscathed at this point. basically its a supply chain issue as opposed to anything else. But for now IMHO that kills any talk of opening asecond line untill they can get the chain in shape 9Boeing should not easily forget its 737 meltdown a few years back)

The A380 wiring mess has been sorted out and Airbus thinks that airlines that have been fence sitting will begin placing orders once deliveries start. Emirates wants to double its order to 110 planes.

Also of interesting note while taxiing in Bangkok, the a/c hit a hanger with its wing tip fence on a hanger suffering minor damage during ground procedures. The left fence was damaged. After an inspection the fences were removed from both sides and the aircraft went on its way.

I had no idea they could be removed so easily. Aircraft with blended winglets would have to undergo a major MRO level repair to remove them.

SIA is expecting its first comercial flight to be on October 28th and all the tickets will be put up for auction with procedes going to charity.
www.aviationweek.com.../aw091007p2.xml&headline=Boeing%20Faces%20''Pretty%20Tight''%20787%20 Delivery%20Schedule

[edit on 9/15/07 by FredT]

Just a few general points (not trying to counter Fred's post, just supplement it)

1. Airbus has had plenty of supply chain issues with the A380, indeed, the wiring problem was just the tip of the iceberg, the vast majority of their problems have been sub-contractor related.

2. Boeing was always being very aggressive with the 787, especially considering the amount of new technology on board. That is ok, as long as the hot air generators in sales have not made stupid promises that the engineers haven't a hope of delivering.

3. There is alot of pressure coming onto airports and ATC around the world regarding the number of flight movements. The A380 offers airlines a viable way of consolidating 2 or 3 flights into 1 and saving on slots. The B787 does not.

While Boeing's (indeed, so did Airbus' to a degree) market research indicated frequent point to point is the most desired mode of travel - ultimately, if the airlines cannot get enough slots for point to point operations, a certain amount of hub and spoke or consolidation of 3 runs into 1 will have to happen.



In conclusion, I *think* as we go into the future, the prospects for the A380 can only pick up (and pick up quite considerably), it is the 787 that will find it difficult to maintain its current success rate.

Originally posted by FredT

Also of interesting note while taxiing in Bangkok, the a/c hit a hanger with its wing tip fence on a hanger suffering minor damage during ground procedures. The left fence was damaged. After an inspection the fences were removed from both sides and the aircraft went on its way.


I had no idea they could be removed so easily. Aircraft with blended winglets would have to undergo a major MRO level repair to remove them.

Yes, with most Airbus aircraft its a simple job - about 15 minutes per wing.

SIA is expecting its first comercial flight to be on October 28th and all the tickets will be put up for auction with procedes going to charity.
www.aviationweek.com.../aw091007p2.xml&headline=Boeing%20Faces%20''Pretty%20Tight''%20787%20 Delivery%20Schedule

[edit on 9/15/07 by FredT]

The charity flights will actually take place on the 25th and 26th of October, with the first scheduled flights beginning on the 28th and will be operated as normal.

Originally posted by kilcoo316
1. Airbus has had plenty of supply chain issues with the A380, indeed, the wiring problem was just the tip of the iceberg, the vast majority of their problems have been sub-contractor related.

First Ive heard of this, what sub-contractor issues have Airbus been having? The 2 year delay was 100% wiring issues, where sub assemblies had been delivered in states where final assembly could not happen and that was all down to different versions of the design software (CATIA) between the French and German designers.

I've buddies within the company, and thats what they've told me - I'll have to ask again for the details.


IIRC it was mainly bad components, not of high enough quality, in either material or manufacturing tolerances.


I'm not even sure they would be able to tell me the exact areas if I asked, but I'll see anyway.