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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Another 787 delay might come Wednesday By Michelle Dunlop Herald Writer EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. will put investors' patience and its own credibility on the line when it provides an update Wednesday on its delayed 787 jet program. Since last July, when Boeing unveiled its new Dreamliner in Everett, the company's stock has dropped more than $30 after setbacks have delayed delivery of the company's first 787 by a minimum of nine months. Company shares also fared poorly when Boeing lost a coveted U.S. Air Force tanker contract in February. With rumors of another significant 787 delay, Boeing's shares have traded below $80 for the past month. Analysts and at least one 787 customer have predicted that Boeing will announce an additional delay of at least six months. The Wednesday update will be Boeing's first 787 briefing since the company acknowledged a three-month delay in January, following six months' worth of delays announced in 2007. The company declined to give a detailed schedule for 787 deliveries, saying it was working with Dreamliner customers and suppliers. Boeing said in February that it had halted work on a short-haul version of the Dreamliner in order to focus its efforts on getting the 787-8 out the door. Then, in March, Boeing announced it would buy 787 partner Vought's shares in a Dreamliner factory in South Carolina. The deal allows Vought to "focus on its primary business of delivering quality aft fuselage structures for the 787," said Pat Shanahan, Boeing's vice president of the 787 program. Boeing's unions saw the move as an acknowledgement that the company had outsourced too much of the 787. The company sourced design and production of major sections of its mostly composite aircraft with partners in Japan, Italy, South Carolina and Kansas. "We are hopeful this is an indication that the company realizes that not just anyone can engineer, design and build these very complex aerospace products," said Ray Goforth, executive director of Boeing's engineers union. Boeing admitted to making design changes to the 787's wing box after an official with the largest 787 customer went public with the Dreamliner's latest hiccup. In March, Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman of International Lease Finance Corp., predicted the 787 won't make its first flight until this fall. Udvar-Hazy also estimated the first Dreamliner will be delivered in September 2009. Boeing has said the first 787 delivery will take place early next year. Boeing's stock closed down 67 cents Monday at $74.98.

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