EVERETT — The Boeing Co. has pushed back deliveries of its 777 Freighter and 747-8 jumbo jet because of the Machinists’ strike, design changes and a shortage of engineers.
The 747-8 will be delayed roughly nine months while the 777 Freighter will arrive as much as three months late, the company said Friday. The 57-day strike by Boeing Machinists was pointed to as the main cause of the 777 Freighter setback. The setback on the 747-8 was hit not only by the strike but also by changes to the plane’s design and a lack of engineering resources.
Delivery of the first 747-8 Freighter will move from late 2009 to the third quarter of 2010. The first 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet delivery moves from late 2010 to the second quarter of 2011.
“We are clearly disappointed in what this schedule change means for our customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders,” said Scott Carson, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “However, it is the appropriate and prudent decision to ensure a successful program, and we are committed to working with our customers to mitigate any disruption it causes them.”
The delay affects nine freighter customers, one airline customer — Lufthansa — and seven undisclosed individual customers, according to Tim Bader, a spokesman for the 747 program. The freighter customers include Cargolux, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Nippon Cargo Airlines. The revamped 747-8 has won a total of 105 orders since its launch. A 747-8 cancellation listed Thursday on the company’s Web site was not due to the schedule delay, Bader said.
Boeing was slow to move over to the 747-8 some of its engineers who worked on the company’s new, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. Supply chain and production issues led to a delay of 15 months on the 787, prior to the Machinists’ strike. Boeing hasn’t announced a new schedule for the 787.
“We certainly would have liked to have the engineers earlier,” Bader said.
But the 747-8 program is in “pretty good shape” in terms of engineering help these days, he said.
Boeing’s new cargo jet, the 777 Freighter, was due to be delivered later this year. That delivery has been moved to the first quarter of 2009, following the Machinists’ strike, said Carrie Thearle, a spokeswoman for the 777 program.
The jet maker has two 777 Freighters in flight testing and one in production. Although the company was able to continue 777 flight tests during the Machinists’ strike, it did so at a reduced pace, Thearle said.
Boeing has received 73 orders for its 777 Freighter.
The delays of the 777 Freighter and 747-8 come on the heels of a production setback to Boeing’s fast-selling 737 single-aisle aircraft. Earlier this week, Boeing announced it would delay 737 deliveries due to faulty parts from a supplier.
The company reached a tentative agreement with its engineers union Friday, potentially avoiding another work stoppage.
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