Boeing 787 suppliers play catch-up
Published 10:12 pm Tuesday, April 27, 2010
EVERETT — The Boeing Co. won’t see new shipments of major 787 sections for a few weeks while its suppliers catch up.
But Dreamliner deliveries to customers, which are supposed to start later this year, won’t be affected, the company said Tuesday.
A few of Boeing’s major 787 partners will hold off on sending Dreamliner sections to Everett for final assembly for 24 manufacturing days, said Yvonne Leach, Boeing spokeswoman. This will allow the suppliers extra time to deal with parts shortages they’re experiencing. However, work will continue in Everett on the 787s already in progress.
“We’re not stopping work on the 787,” Leach said.
Boeing has some wiggle room in its production schedule to allow for the change, she said.
The company plans to deliver the first 787 later this year, more than two years late. Deliveries to Dreamliner customers won’t be affected by the halt in supplier shipments to Boeing, Leach said.
For the 787, Boeing depends on partners to ship major sections into Everett for final assembly. Boeing workers in Everett have four 787s, including the 22nd airplane produced, in the factory for final assembly. Shipments for airplanes 23 and 24 will be held for 24 days at suppliers to allow those sections to be completed.
The 787 program ran into trouble two years ago when suppliers shipped incomplete sections into Everett. But Boeing’s Leach said suppliers have been sending increasingly completed sections. Delaying shipment of the sections in question will save Boeing from needing to do extra work at the Everett plant.
Ultimately, Boeing intends to build 10 of its 787 Dreamliners each month. The company is establishing a second final assembly line for its 787 in Charleston, S.C., to help achieve that goal. Boeing has 866 orders for its fuel-efficient 787.
Regardless of the halt in supplier deliveries to Everett, the company continues flight testing of its 787, with the goal of obtaining certification from the Federal Aviation Administration later this year. Boeing has four test aircraft in flight testing. Those aircraft have 518 hours in the air. Boeing plans to add two flight-test 787s to the program this quarter.
