Boeing Reschedules Initial 787 Dreamliner Deliveries and First Flight

One wonders how much the setbacks in Boeing's 787 program are a result
of the whistle-blowing former Boeing engineer's comments to the FAA
citing shortcuts and unsound engineering decisions for the 787. Here's
the link to the document:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABP...2003889769.pdf


----------------- Boeing press Release ----------------------
The Boeing Company http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/index.html
Boeing Reschedules Initial 787 Deliveries and First Flight

* Financial impact not material to earnings
* Earnings guidance unchanged for 2007 and 2008

CHICAGO, Oct. 10, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] today announced
a
six-month delay in its planned initial deliveries of the 787
Dreamliner due to continued challenges completing assembly of the
first airplanes.

Deliveries of the strong-selling Dreamliner are now slated to begin in
late November or December 2008, versus an original target of May 2008.
First flight is now anticipated around the end of first quarter 2008.

The company said the financial impact of the delay would not be
material to earnings and that its earnings guidance for 2007 and 2008
remained unchanged.

"We are disappointed over the schedule changes that we are announcing
today," said Boeing Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Jim McNerney. "Notwithstanding the challenges that we are experiencing
in bringing forward this game-changing product, we remain confident in
the design of the 787, and in the fundamental innovation and
technologies that underpin it."

Early last month, Boeing announced a delay in the planned first flight
of the 787 citing ongoing challenges with out-of-sequence production
work, including parts shortages, and remaining software and systems
integration activities. The company also acknowledged increasing risk
to the delivery schedule, indicating that the margin to accommodate
unexpected issues had been eliminated. The newly revised schedule for
first flight and first delivery addresses the production challenges
and restores margin for the program to deal with issues that may be
uncovered in final ground or flight testing. Boeing also said today
that flight control software and systems integration activities are
not pacing items in the revised schedule for first flight.

"While we have made some progress over the past several weeks
completing work on our early production airplanes and improving parts
availability across the production system, the pace of that progress
has not been sufficient to support our previous plans for first
delivery or first flight," said Scott Carson, president and CEO of
Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We deeply regret the impact these delays
will have on our customers, and we are committed to working with them
to minimize any disruption to their plans.

"The most important commitment we've made to our customers is to
deliver an airplane that performs to their expectations over the long
life of the program. These changes to our schedule will help ensure we
do just that," Carson said.

The company will hold a conference call to discuss the 787 schedule
changes today at 12:30 p.m. Central Time, which will be accessible at
the company's website
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....ails&c=85482&e
ventID=1667937 .

Boeing will provide its next quarterly financial performance update as
planned on October 24.