Boeing’s Dreamliner aircraft delayed yet again

Latest delay caused by an electrical problem which led to test flights being suspended last November

The delivery of the first Dreamliner, Boeing’s “green” passenger aircraft, has been postponed yet again after an electrical fire on a test flight in November.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among UK carriers which have ordered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The first plane was due to be delivered to Japanese airline All Nippon Airways in 2008.

However, a succession of production difficulties has put the delivery date back and back. Boeing said that the first delivery would be some time between the beginning of July and the end of September.

The latest delay has been caused by an electrical problem which led to test flights being suspended last November. Boeing said the new delivery date included the time required to produce, install and test updated software and new electrical power distribution panels in the flight test and production airplanes. 

Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 programme, said: “This revised timeline for first delivery accommodates the work we believe remains to be done to complete testing and certification of the 787. We’ve also restored some margin in the schedule to allow for any additional time that may be needed to complete certification activities.”

Boeing said it had been gradually returning individual airplanes to the flight test programme. After receiving interim software and hardware improvements, four flight test airplanes have been subjected to ground testing and a review to ensure their readiness to return to flight. The remaining two airplanes will be returning to flight in the days ahead to bring the full test fleet back up to flight status.

Boeing sees the long-range, wide-bodied Dreamliner as the face of modern flying, with the plane quieter and far more fuel-efficient than its rivals.