Boeing's 787 on schedule for first flight, delivery
SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner is on track for its first flight this summer and first delivery next year as the manufacturer nears 500 total orders for the jet, the company said Monday.
Major pieces of the long-range, mid-sized 787 are headed to Boeing's assembly plant in Everett, and Boeing has sent officials to help subcontractors work through wrinkles in the production process, 787 program chief Mike Bair said.
"A lot of people are working very, very hard around the world to make sure this airplane gets to the market on time," Bair told analysts and reporters Monday.
The 787 is scheduled to make its first flight around late August, and enter commercial service in 2008.
The jet has been a big hit with Boeing's customers, and is a major factor in the Chicago-based company's resurgence in the race with European rival Airbus.
Airbus' marquee new jet, the A380 superjumbo, made its first flight to North America on Monday. But Airbus' A350 widebody - a closer competitor to the 787 - is about five years behind in the design process.
Boeing has collected 490 orders for the 787, which is designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than comparable airplanes by using more lightweight composites.
A little more than half of the plane's structure is made up of carbon-fiber composites - a first for Boeing. Bair said the quality of the composite parts produced for the first 787 has been better than expected.
Another first for the Chicago-based company is the amount of work on major structures being handled by other companies around the world, which then ship the pieces to U.S. factories.
Two rough spots in the production process so far have been the plane's 60 miles of complicated wiring and delays building a factory for Alenia Aeronautica, an Italian company that manufactures some 787 fuselage sections.
Bair said Alenia's plan to get back up to speed was progressing well. Wiring systems for large airplanes are "always an issue," but Boeing doesn't anticipate any major problems, Bair said.
"There are a lot of things that have gone really well with this program," Bair said. "We tend not to pay much attention to that. All our focus is on those few areas that are challenging."
While some delays in the manufacturing process may be inevitable, Boeing has done well so far to assure investors that the 787 is on track, said Paul Nisbet, an analyst for JSA Research Inc.
"Everybody's looking for that crack in the wall and not finding it yet," Nisbet said.
Boeing shares closed up 32 cents, or 0.36 percent, at $90.32 on the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing stock has traded between $72.13 and $92.24 in the past year.
Bair said Boeing has been surprised by the increasing number of orders for the plane, which is presently sold out well into 2013. He hinted at more orders for the jet from large carriers, but did not name specific customers.
"We've seen no sense of anything slowing down in the marketplace. In fact, if anything it might be getting a little bit more frenzied," Bair said.
Nisbet said one danger for the company could be a temptation to ramp up production to accommodate increased orders, something that got Boeing into trouble with other airplane models in the late 1990s.
"That was really the worst time the company ever ran into," Nisbet said. "I'm sure it's indelible in their brain right now, and it'll stay that way, hopefully."
Major pieces of the long-range, mid-sized 787 are headed to Boeing's assembly plant in Everett, and Boeing has sent officials to help subcontractors work through wrinkles in the production process, 787 program chief Mike Bair said.
"A lot of people are working very, very hard around the world to make sure this airplane gets to the market on time," Bair told analysts and reporters Monday.
The 787 is scheduled to make its first flight around late August, and enter commercial service in 2008.
The jet has been a big hit with Boeing's customers, and is a major factor in the Chicago-based company's resurgence in the race with European rival Airbus.
Airbus' marquee new jet, the A380 superjumbo, made its first flight to North America on Monday. But Airbus' A350 widebody - a closer competitor to the 787 - is about five years behind in the design process.
Boeing has collected 490 orders for the 787, which is designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than comparable airplanes by using more lightweight composites.
A little more than half of the plane's structure is made up of carbon-fiber composites - a first for Boeing. Bair said the quality of the composite parts produced for the first 787 has been better than expected.
Another first for the Chicago-based company is the amount of work on major structures being handled by other companies around the world, which then ship the pieces to U.S. factories.
Two rough spots in the production process so far have been the plane's 60 miles of complicated wiring and delays building a factory for Alenia Aeronautica, an Italian company that manufactures some 787 fuselage sections.
Bair said Alenia's plan to get back up to speed was progressing well. Wiring systems for large airplanes are "always an issue," but Boeing doesn't anticipate any major problems, Bair said.
"There are a lot of things that have gone really well with this program," Bair said. "We tend not to pay much attention to that. All our focus is on those few areas that are challenging."
While some delays in the manufacturing process may be inevitable, Boeing has done well so far to assure investors that the 787 is on track, said Paul Nisbet, an analyst for JSA Research Inc.
"Everybody's looking for that crack in the wall and not finding it yet," Nisbet said.
Boeing shares closed up 32 cents, or 0.36 percent, at $90.32 on the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing stock has traded between $72.13 and $92.24 in the past year.
Bair said Boeing has been surprised by the increasing number of orders for the plane, which is presently sold out well into 2013. He hinted at more orders for the jet from large carriers, but did not name specific customers.
"We've seen no sense of anything slowing down in the marketplace. In fact, if anything it might be getting a little bit more frenzied," Bair said.
Nisbet said one danger for the company could be a temptation to ramp up production to accommodate increased orders, something that got Boeing into trouble with other airplane models in the late 1990s.
"That was really the worst time the company ever ran into," Nisbet said. "I'm sure it's indelible in their brain right now, and it'll stay that way, hopefully."