Japan Airlines no longer expects its first 787 Dreamliner from Boeing by the end of February as a fresh manufacturing glitch is seen adding pressure to an already-tight production timetable.
The Japanese carrier, which has ordered 35 of Boeing's advanced carbon composite aircraft, said it is now in talks with the aircraft builder for possible delivery in March.
"Negotiations are still ongoing" with Boeing, JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap said. JAL had expected four 787s by the end of March, but "with this development we are unsure."
Boeing insists it can fix what it described as "incorrect shimming" in support structures in the aft fuselage of some planes and meet its goal to make 10 787s per month by the end of next year.
Shims are used to close tiny gaps in joints along the fuselage.
Some analysts, however, say the target was unrealistic to begin with and this will slow production more.
"We don't know if this will impact production," EarlyBirdCapital managing director Alex Hamilton said.
"But if you have to go back and correct something and possibly change production going forward, it seems to have a good chance, in our opinion."
Hamilton is among many experts who doubted Boeing's ability to hit its 787 production target.
The company currently makes 2.5 Dreamliners per month. It expects to boost monthly output to 3.5 in the second quarter, and five by the end of 2012.
Much of that output is destined for Japan, where Boeing dominates its European rival Airbus with around a 90 percent market share.
In addition to the 35 jets destined for JAL, rival All Nippon Airways has ordered 55 787s and expects a further 20 to join its fleet by the end of March next year. The five aircraft now in service with ANA are operating as normal, a spokesman said.
ANA also said it was in talks with Boeing regarding future deliveries following the fuselage problem.
"We don't see any big impact, but it might push things back two or three months," spokesman Ryosei Nomura said.
Boeing's Dreamliner is the first commercial plane made largely of lightweight carbon composites and entered service last year with ANA.
Boeing has taken 870 orders for the plane, which boasts greater fuel efficiency over rivals, but has been plagued by development and production delays, including a shortage of nuts and bolts in 2007, a 58-day strike in 2008 and a fire on a 787 test flight in 2010.
Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Virginia-based Teal Group, said problems related to the 787 are often magnified by the public because the plane incorporates new technology.
"There are people who are concerned about the use of composites. It's a minority view," Aboulafia said. "Delamination, of course, goes to the very heart of the risk associated with this particular technology - composite materials in primary structures."
RBC Capital Markets analyst Rob Stallard said the shimming issue spoke to the integrity of the composites used in the 787, but he did not think it would disrupt the programme.
"When you think of the big problems we've seen on the 787 over many, many years, this just looks like noise," Stallard said. "I'm sure these things happen in development programmes all the time."
Airbus recently blamed a combination of manufacturing and design flaws for wing cracks on its A380 superjumbo. The company said it had found a simple remedy for the problem, easing concern among analysts.
Source: Reuters
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