Boeing Dreamliner Hits Delivery Delay

All Nippon Airways said it will delay the start of Dreamliner service on some international routes because Boeing Co. is late in delivering an aircraft.

The airline, the first operator of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, said in a statement on its Web site last week that a productivity reason is being given for the delay in delivery. All Nippon said it will delay Dreamliner service between Tokyo and Beijing and between Tokyo and Frankfurt as a result.

Boeing's Dreamliner program is a radical aircraft design, using lightweight materials to reduce weight, noise and emissions. But the Dreamliner program faced many delays in launching before it was finally hailed late this year as a breakthrough after it finally took commercial flight earlier this year.

Boeing's stock (NYSE: BA) closed at $71.01 on Friday.

All Nippon had said the Beijing route would start this month, but now it has been rescheduled for January.

ANA regrets to take the precaution of amending international flight plans. ANA will continue urgent negotiations with Boeing to deliver the 787 as early and as close to the original schedule as possible, the company said.

According to Reuters, Boeing said the delay in delivery of the 787 Dreamliner was due to a minor wiring problem on three planes that was spotted during a standard walk-through by the Federal Aviation Administration.

A Boeing spokeswoman told Reuters the issue was not widespread and that the matter has been resolved.

As always we are working closely with our customer to minimize the impact and expect to deliver this airplane as quickly as possible, she said.

Boeing spent an estimated $32 billion on designing and manufacturing the 787 Dreamliner and took three years longer than expected to get the first one delivered. But Boeing understood that getting it right matters most -- since the company isn't planning to launch another new plane until the next decade.

Boeing already has orders for some 800 units, the company has said.