ANA calls 787 delay 'regrettable'; Boeing 'awaits a substitute' Trent 1000

787 first flight. Photo: Courtesy, Boeing.

Dreamliner launch customer ANA said in a brief statement Friday that the latest delay to the 787 program "is regrettable," while a Boeing official said the delay "is much less important than the thoroughness of the process that gets us" to first delivery.

Following an ATW Daily News report that 787 customer Kenya Airways had been informed by Boeing of a further three-month delay in initial deliveries, the manufacturer confirmed early Friday that first 787 deliveries would be pushed back to "the middle of the first quarter 2011" (ATW Daily News, Aug. 27). It had been targeting first delivery to ANA by this year's fourth quarter.

"The reason was a combined impact of several issues unrelated to the airplane's performance in flight test," VP-Marketing Randy Tinseth wrote in a Friday blog post elaborating on the manufacturer's statement announcing the delay. He noted that "just recently, Rolls-Royce experienced some engine availability challenges. The cumulative impact of this new issue, on top of the other issues, has led to our revising our expected timing for first delivery by a few weeks."

ANA said in an e-mailed statement, "Given the success of the flight test program so far, it is regrettable to hear of the delay. However, we trust that the time will be used to deliver the best possible aircraft in the shortest possible time-frame."

Tinseth said the 787 "program awaits a substitute [Trent 1000] engine from Rolls-Royce." Rolls had said the Aug. 18 failure of one of its Trent 1000 engines on a test bed would have no impact on the 787's EIS. Tinseth wrote that Boeing "will work with [Rolls] to address the contributing factors in the test incident." He added that 787 flight testing "continues at a healthy pace. We recently completed polar navigation and autopilot testing and wet runway landing demonstrations."

He emphasized that Boeing's main focus is on delivering a top-standard aircraft to ANA and other customers. "We've said it before: Building a new airplane is hard work. But the certification and entry into service has to be right…Clearly, first delivery will be a great event when it happens because we'll know that the airplane we're presenting to our customer is safe, efficient and reliable. In the big picture, the date of the event is much less important than the thoroughness of the process that gets us there."