Boeing delays Dreamliner launch to 2009

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Aerospace giant Boeing said Wednesday it was again delaying the launch of its 787 Dreamliner, with deliveries now set to begin in early 2009.

The move is a setback for Boeing as it jockeys for position with Europe's Airbus as the world's largest maker of civilian aircraft.

Boeing said the first flight of the 787 has been moved from the end of the first quarter of this year "to around the end of the second quarter to provide additional time to complete assembly of the first airplane."

Deliveries are now expected to begin in early 2009, rather than late 2008, Boeing said.

"The fundamental design and technologies of the 787 remain sound," said Scott Carson, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement....