BUSINESS BRIEFING / AVIATION

Boeing Co. said the initial test flight and delivery of its long-awaited 787 jetliner remained on schedule.

The Chicago aerospace company has postponed introduction of the next-generation aircraft four times because of production glitches and a two-month strike last fall. The delays have cost Boeing credibility and billions of dollars in anticipated costs and penalties.

Scott Carson, president and chief executive of Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, said Boeing continued to work toward the inaugural 787 test flight in the second quarter of this year and the first delivery in the first quarter of 2010.