Boeing Co. has been swamped with compensation demands after it announced the third major delay in six months of its new 787 Dreamliner plane.

The world's second-largest maker of commercial jets announced the delay on Wednesday, pushing back delivery into the third quarter of 2009, more than a year after the original target of May this year.

Air New Zealand, Air India, Qantas, Japan's two big carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, British Airways, Virgin were among those seeking redress from Boeing.

The 787 is an extremely fuel-efficient aircraft, said Japan Airlines' chief executive Haruka Nishimatsu. A delay will impact us significantly.

More than 50 airlines are waiting for 892 Boeing 787s, worth a combined $145 billion at list prices.

Despite the problems, Boeing shares jumped 4.8 percent on Wednesday and were recently up 0.3 percent.

Australia's Qantas, the plane's second-biggest buyer ordering 65 planes, said it had already put in a claim for redress after previous delays and was due substantial damages.

We did anticipate a further delay and have been working on contingencies for some time, Chief Executive Geoff Dixon said.

The Dreamliner has been held up as Boeing makes slow progress on assembling the plane and said it has further supply problems.

Boeing had planned to outsource almost all major manufacturing to outside companies and then assemble the plane itself but discover this would make it hard to monitor faults and delays.

The Dreamliner, Boeing's first new model in over a decade, is designed using high-tech plastic composites instead of aluminum.

The aerospace giant plans to build around 2,000 Dreamliner's over the next two decades, and boasts the new aircraft consumes 20 percent less fuel compared to planes of a similar size.

The plane is also lighter since almost 50 percent of its primary structure, including its central body and wings, are made of composites such as carbon-fiber. The highly touted aircraft will have the capacity to fly 9,700 miles (15,750 kilometers) without refueling.

Australia Japan Qantas Japan Airlines