Boeing moves to speed first 787 deliveries

Boeing Co. has temporarily suspended work on the short-haul version of its new 787 Dreamliner, a move aimed at keeping the program on schedule for delivery of the first of two long-range models to customers by early 2009.

Boeing has booked only 43 orders for the 787-3, which is designed to carry as many as 330 passengers as far as 3,500 miles.

The original plan called for the first 787-3s to be delivered to Japan’s All Nippon Airways Co. in mid-2010, but Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said Thursday that it was too early to tell whether the company would meet that target.

Gunter declined to say how many people had been reassigned from the 787-3 to the 787-8, the first model due off the assembly line. The shifting of personnel began this month.

It has not yet been determined how long the workers will focus on the 787-8 before being shifted back to the 787-3 line, Gunter said.

The Dreamliner program has been hit by a series of delays caused largely by work that had to be done on the final assembly line after it was not handled at supplier factories as planned.

Boeing’s initial timetable had 787 test flights beginning last August or September, followed by the delivery of launch customer All Nippon Airways’ first plane in May.

The company now hopes to start test flights by the end of June, with the initial delivery to the Japanese airline early next year.

Boeing has received more than 850 orders for the Dreamliner, including 642 for the 787-8, which will carry as many as 250 passengers about 9,500 miles, and 172 for the 787-9, which will seat as many as 290 passengers on flights as long as 9,800 miles.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing rose $1.03 on Friday to $83.04.