Boeing's 787 Dreamliner faces another delay: report

Frankfurt: Boeing said on Sunday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had not informed the company of any certification delay of its Dreamliner jet. Boeing's denial came after a report in German magazine Focus that the prestigious 787 Dreamliner project could likely be pushed back another three to six months. This would be a severe blow to the company's image which has just announced the third delay in its commercial delivery programme.
 
Focus clarified that it had obtained the information from within the FAA, and quoting sources within the regulatory body, said that the first orders would now be delivered at the end of 2009, or the start of 2010. Boeing announcing the third delay in the Dreamliner programme recently, had said that it would definitely commence commercial deliveries by the third quarter of 2009.

Focus said the reason for the latest push back in the programme was a delay in certification by the FAA. Agencies quoted a Boeing spokesperson as responding: "The FAA has been overseeing our certification effort every step of the way and this is not our understanding."

An FAA official also appeared not to be aware of any additional delay in the programme.

The first Dreamliner delivery was originally scheduled for May 2008, and is now currently running at least 15 months behind schedule.