The first delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been pushed back to “the middle of the first quarter 2011”, due to the availability of Rolls Royce engines needed for the final stages of flight tests.
The much-delayed aircraft had been due to be delivered to launch customer ANA in the fourth quarter of this year, but Boeing said in July that this date might be pushed back to the start of 2011 due to “the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays”.
This latest delay follows “an assessment of the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test this fall”. The manufacturer added that “While Boeing works closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability, flight testing across the test fleet continues as planned”.
For more information visit boeing.com, and for our comparison of the Boeing Dreamliner and Airbus A380 aircraft, click here.
Report by Mark Caswell