The Boeing Co. has once again announced that its much awaited—and already two years behind schedule—delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner will be delayed, this time until the first quarter of 2011.
The new delay, which Boeing did not rule out last month at the Farnborough Air Show, is caused by an engine failure of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 test engine during a phase of testing at the manufacturer’s plant in Derby, England.
According to reports, the engine fell apart during testing and both Boeing and Rolls-Royce Plc declined to comment to a report published in Flight International, an aviation industry trade magazine.
“Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011,” according to a Boeing-released statement. “The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.”
Rolls-Royce—not to be confused with the car maker that shares its name—later confirmed that an engine failure indeed occurred.
The latest delay could potentially be costly for Boeing, which is depending on the 787 to take back the title of the world’s largest plane producer from European rival Airbus.
The Boeing 787 made its first flight in December last year. It is expected to offer improvements in terms of passenger comfort and also fuel efficiency, according to a statement made by the company.
{etRelate 39385, 39435}The model is the third of six planes in the Boeing test program. It was meant to be delivered to All Nippon Airways, its first customer, more than two years ago, according to Denver Business Journal.
The plane’s development has been closely followed by business and economic-development leaders in Denver as its design and engineering will enable direct nonstop flights to Asia from Denver International Airport.
