Boeing 787 delay won't affect Royal Jordanian order

Boeing Co.'s sixth postponement of its 787 Dreamliner won't delay the delivery date of the aircraft ordered by Royal Jordanian, the carrier's Chief Executive Officer Hussein Dabbas said.

"We were assured the delivery of our airplanes will not be affected," Dabbas said in a telephone interview today from Amman, where the carrier is based. The carrier expects to receive its first plane in 2013, he said.

In July at the Farnborough Air Show, Royal Jordanian, the first to order the 787 in the Middle East, increased to 11 the number of Dreamliners it committed to take through direct purchases or leases. The airline had ordered four 787s in 2007 and arranged to lease two airplanes each from CIT Aerospace International and International Lease Finance Co.

Boeing Co. on Aug. 27 postponed delivery of its 787 Dreamliner for the sixth time after Rolls-Royce Group Plc was unable to supply an engine to complete flight testing. The first plane manufactured by the Chicago-based planemaker, due before the end of this year, will now be handed over in the middle of the first quarter of 2011, the company said last week.

The composite-plastic plane is already more than two and a half years late following delays caused by the use of new materials, parts shortages and redesign work involving Italian sub-contractor Finmeccanica SpA's Alenia unit.

The Jordanian carrier is "not discussing compensation right now," with Boeing, Dabbas said. Royal Jordanian plans to fly the 787 to New York, Chicago, Detroit and Toronto.