The last few months have been a little rough for Boeing. After all but laughing at their rival Airbus for delays related to their A380 program, the Chicago based airframe manufacturer has pushed back the delivery of their new 787 composite aircraft twice, citing supply chain and final construction issues.
Then, earlier this month, Boeing lost a key Department of Defense contract for airborne tankers to the European air and space conglomerate, EADS, in a performance based competition.
Now, some airline analysts are starting to predict another, more significant delay for the embattled aircraft. Construction and integration of the wing box, a critical section on the underbelly that interfaces with the wings, holds fuel and connects to the landing gear, appears to be the source of the issue. Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman of International Lease Finance Corp, Boeing’s largest customer recently highlighted the problems and referred to the situation as “not pretty”.
This is, however, one opinion from one analyst in the industry. Boeing hasn’t made an official statement on the matter, stating that they’ve been “focused on [their] near-term milestones of power on and first flight”, but Yyvone Leach, their Senior 787 PR contact did proffer this foreshadowing:
“It is normal during the development of a new airplane to discover the need for design enhancements. We are working with our partners to address the need for design changes in some areas. While these changes are not good for final assembly because they are dealing with traveled work at this time, the design changes are not the sole pacing item.”
The program update for media and analysts is scheduled for April 23. Perhaps things will be more transparent by then.
Check out James Wallace’s blog for more info (and speculation).