The Boeing Company said Thursday that its troubled 787 Dreamliner would be ready for a test flight by the end of the year (2009) and its first delivery would be in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Boeing also said that it would book a pretax charge of $2.5 billion, or $2.21 a share, in the third quarter because of the delays.
The new schedule, Boeing said in a statement, will give the company time to fix a structural flaw where the wings join the fuselage. The test flight was initially expected at the end of 2007 with the first deliveries in May 2008.
The jetliner is supposed to be lighter and more fuel-efficient than other airliners, and Boeing has 850 advance orders. But it has faced several critical delays in the production of parts, many of which were outsourced.
The latest problem was reported earlier this month when Boeing said it had instructed an Italian company, Alenia Aeronautica, to stop making fuselage sections for the aircraft after small wrinkles were discovered in the carbon composite skin.
Despite the announcement, some airline industry officials remain skeptical that the Boeing will be able to meet the latest revised schedule.
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