With "fully half" of its BBJ backlog attached to twin-aisle aircraft, Boeing Business Jet (stand A7,8) president Steve Taylor remains cautiously optimistic that delays to commercial deliveries of the company's newest jets will not have a knock-on effect on VIP deliveries.
Boeing is in the midst of determining its handover schedule for its first 787s following a 9 November fire on one of its test aircraft, but Taylor says the first VIP delivery will not be affected by the coming delay in commercial deliveries.
Additionally, delays incurred on the freighter variant of the company's new 747-8 are not expected to have a knock-on effect on VIP deliveries, which begin in late 2011.
Taylor says the first of 12 787-8 VIP aircraft on order is due to be delivered to a completion centre in mid-2012, with deliveries of the others, stretching up to 2018, "pretty evenly spaced out".
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The mid-2012 target, he adds, has remained unchanged since late 2009 when the side-of-body structural modification required on the 787 slid the first delivery by six months to the end of 2010. The first delivery was later advanced further to the mid-first quarter 2011 because of horizontal stabiliser rework and engine availability.
Any delay to commercial deliveries, he adds, are likely to be absorbed by the early 787 airframes. The 2012 VIP deliveries will not be affected, yet uncertainty about the speed of Boeing's production ramp-up may put pressure on this date.
Additionally, Taylor says the first 747-8 Intercontinental, which is undergoing post-final assembly system integration testing, is to be unveiled in a roll-out ceremony in mid-February, followed by first flight in the March timeframe.
Design changes ranging from structural vibration issues to an underperforming inboard aileron have buckled Boeing's 747-8 Freighter schedule, pushing its first delivery to mid-2011, an additional delay of six months.
The first of two 747-8I test aircraft is to be a VIP-configured model, the first time in the company's history a lead test airframe is destined for VIP operation.
Eight 747-8I VIP aircraft have been ordered to date, with seven of those airframes earmarked for five Middle Eastern customers. Taylor says five 747s will be delivered over several weeks in late 2011, with the balance handed over in 2012.
Source: Flight Daily News
