Everett, Wash. Published: Friday, November 7, 2008
Boeing's delivery total for October: 5 jets
Associated Press
The Boeing Co. delivered just five jetliners in October amid a strike by union workers that forced the aerospace firm to close its commercial aircraft factories temporarily.
The company, which posted deliveries for the month on its Web site Thursday, earlier reported 12 airplane deliveries in September and 36 per month in August and July.
The eight-week strike by 27,000 workers in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas ended after the Machinists union ratified a new four-year contract with the company Saturday.
The workers -- among them electricians, painters and mechanics -- began returning to Boeing's commercial aircraft plants Sunday night, and the entire union work force is due to resume work by Monday.
Boeing has delivered 330 jets through the end of October. Airbus, which continued producing aircraft while Boeing's factories were at a standstill, has handed over 391 airplanes this year.
Airbus leads Boeing in year-to-date commercial orders with 675 net orders through October, compared with Boeing's 637 orders. Boeing announced Thursday orders for four of its Everett-built 767s from Uzbekistan Airways. The request was placed Oct. 31 and is included in the 637 order total. Airbus has seen 119 order cancellations in 2008, compared with only two cancellations of Boeing jets.
On Tuesday, Boeing officials said the strike had delayed the inaugural test flight of the company's next-generation 787 until next year. But the plane, which the company says will be more fuel-efficient than current jetliners because of its construction from lightweight carbon composite parts, faced a series of production delays even before the walkout.
Boeing also said it had discovered that some fasteners -- essentially nuts and bolts -- used throughout 787s at its Everett facility had been improperly installed by the company and suppliers responsible for building sections of the plane.
Boeing officials have said the company's production schedule likely will be pushed back day-for-day because of the 57-day strike, and that a revised schedule will be announced after an assessment of the strike's impact is complete.
Analysts have said Boeing routinely delivers about 40 planes per month, bringing the estimated number of postponed deliveries to about 80.
