Report: Boeing's Dreamliner may face 6-month delay

Boeing Co., which has delayed the delivery of its 787 Dreamliner five times, may not get it flying for another six months, said Senior Plc, a British supplier of air ducts and other parts for the plane.

Boeing failed to make good on a June 16 pledge at the Paris Air Show that the 787 would fly before the end of that month. The two-year delay in the plane's development has allowed Toulouse, France-based rival Airbus SAS to gain ground with orders for its competing A350 model.

"Their credibility is somewhat in question," Chief Executive Officer Mark Rollins said today in a telephone interview. "We estimate another six-month delay."

The 787 would increase Senior's sales by about 12 percent and its commercial aerospace revenue by about 50 percent to $300 million a year by 2012, Rollins said. Boeing, which has 850 orders for the 787, originally forecast production of 120 planes a year by 2012, although that looks less likely now, he said.

Boeing gave no date for the 787's first flight following the last delay and has said it will give an update within the next two months.

"We have phenomenally good relations with them and usually have the inside track, but they've generally gone quiet for everybody on the 787s, so we're reliant on their public statements," Rollins said. He said each plane is worth about $800,000 to Senior, which is based in Rickmansworth, southern England.

The latest announcements and production schedules by Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing indicate they will maintain output close to current levels through 2010 and 2011, the CEO said.

"Experts think that there will be a fall-off, and if there is a fall, we can take action" quickly, Rollins said. Cost reductions take less time in the U.S., where Senior has most of its production, than elsewhere, he said. Senior has slashed its headcount by 20 percent to 4,756 since the end of September, which will save 22 million pounds ($37 million) this year.