Dreamliner Delayed Indefinitely, Boeing Outlook Grim

After last month’s 787 Dreamliner test flight cancellation and more customer exodus, all is not well at the Boeing Company.
Dreamliner Delayed Indefinitely, Boeing Outlook Grim
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the flight line January 9, 2009 at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Boeing has delayed the 787 indefinitely. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
7/5/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/dreamliner88643586.jpg" alt="The Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the flight line January 9, 2009 at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Boeing has delayed the 787 indefinitely. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)" title="The Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the flight line January 9, 2009 at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Boeing has delayed the 787 indefinitely. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1827521"/></a>
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the flight line January 9, 2009 at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Boeing has delayed the 787 indefinitely. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

After last month’s 787 Dreamliner test flight cancellation and more customer exodus, all is not well at the Boeing Company.

Customers learned of the delay last month when Boeing cancelled a scheduled test flight of its newest next-generation airliner. Since then, Boeing has lost more than 75 orders for the aircraft.

While the world’s second-largest commercial aircraft maker gained nine new orders last week, more cancellations from current customers brought the net orders down to one for 2009. Last week, Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. cut its order for the 787 by 15 from 65 to 50 aircrafts.

Boeing has not set a date for the first flight of the 787, a highly anticipated aircraft expected to be a cash cow for the company. But numerous delays have sapped enthusiasm from customers, and launch customer All Nippon Airways will wait another two years for its first delivery.

But as it stands, Boeing still has orders for 850 planes for the Dreamliner over the next decade, amounting to around $151 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Seen Enough of 787 Supplier?

Boeing is reportedly close to a deal acquiring Vought Aircraft Industrials Inc., a South Carolina-based supplier of Dreamliner parts.

Vought did not manufacture the parts that caused the newest delay—to strengthen parts of the aircraft’s wings—but Boeing has had troubles with other subcontractors previously that had caused aircraft delays.

Analysts say that the potential move is aimed at tightening Boeing’s control of the most important phases of production of its newest aircraft.

“Investors who slapped the snooze alarm and dreamed happy dreams through last month’s test-flight buzz, however, cannot afford to ignore the resurgent alarm bells today,” wrote Rich Smith of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor in a note. “You need to ask yourself: If all is well, the structural weak spots that forced the test flight’s cancellation will soon be fixed, and production put back on track ... then why did Boeing feel it necessary to bring more manufacturing in-house today?”