Some Boeing customers face two-year delay in 787 deliveries

SEATTLE -- Delays in getting Boeing Co.'s new 787 jetliner off the ground will push deliveries to some of the plane maker's customers back by as much as 30 months, according to reports Friday.

Two of those customers, International Lease Finance Corp. and Air Canada, disclosed Thursday that they now expect delivery delays of two years or more, according to stories published in The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the parent of ILFC, the biggest customer for the 787 with 74 on order, said its planes will be delayed "an average in excess of 27 months per aircraft and span across ILFC's entire order."

ILFC was set to receive its first 787s in 2010, but now expects them in 2012 or later.

During a conference call after reporting earnings, Air Canada said it, too, expects delays of 24 to 30 months. Air Canada has 37 of the fuel-efficient composite jets on order.

Air Canada Chief Executive Officer Montie Brewer said the airline will demand compensation from Boeing because of the delays, but did not give a figure.

Chicago-based Boeing has pushed back the date for delivering the first of the 787s three times. Japan's All Nippon Airways, the first customer on the list, was supposed to receive its first of the jetliners this month, but that was recently rescheduled for the third quarter of 2009.

The delays could cost Boeing billions of dollars in penalty payments and additional research and development spending, analysts have predicted. Boeing does not have a tally of those costs yet, the Post-Intelligencer said.

Boeing has cut back its initial goals for 787 production, and assembly is ramping up slower than planned.