Further delays predicted as Boeing tweaks 787 design

Boeing Co. says it has changed the design of a key part of its new 787 jetliner, but the company has not addressed rumors that the fix would contribute to further delays in the plane’s first flight.

“It is a normal part of the development of a new airplane to discover need for improvements, and that is what we are experiencing on the 787,” Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said in a statement.

Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman of International Lease Finance Corp., one of Boeing’s largest customers, this week said changes to the plane’s center wing box could push back Boeing’s 787 timeline.

The center wing box connects the jetliner’s wings to the fuselage and holds fuel. In the statement issued Thursday, Leach said the issue with the center wing box had been addressed.

Udvar-Hazy, whose company has ordered 74 of the planes, predicted the 787’s first flight would not occur until the fall and that the first delivery would be postponed to the end of the third quarter of 2009.

Chicago-based Boeing has not given any updates on the 787’s timing since January, when it announced the program’s third major delay. Industry watchers expect it will announce a fourth delay soon.