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Boing 787 "Dreamliner" maiden flight delayed again
Poor Boeing. They are right in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in their history, and their newest plane is creating a bit of a disaster of its own. The 787 Dreamliner was scheduled to take its first flight early last year, but they realized back then that it could be moved to September 2008. We are now in the Summer of 2009 and Boeing is on their sixth delay.
The delay comes just one week after a horrible Paris Air Show, which is traditionally where Boeing announces a boatload of orders, but this year Airbus beat them, though neither manufacturer had that much good news to report. Airbus reported 112 aircraft sales, Boeing only sold 2.
The bad news is having a horrible effect on the share price of Boeing, which is down over 7% this morning (at the time of writing).
Still, fingers crossed that they sort out the problems with the plane. It really is a beauty, but it won't do them (or their customers) any good if it just sits on the runway. By now I am sure Boeing will be regretting laughing at the problems Airbus encountered in building the massive A380 double-decker plane.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe Jun 23rd 2009 3:05PM
I'm sure Airbus is taking note at how Boeing has cut their own throat to please their investors. I think this will go down in the annals of history of how not to outsource. Especially something as complex as a passenger airplane. In the beginning I was truly excited to see the specs and renderings of the 787, but now I simply don't care if it ever gets off the ground. Though I'm sure it will with enough government stimulus checks.
Boeing has taken decades of experience (over half a century) in manufacturing planes and pissed it away by saying, "hey we can save a little bit of money by letting someone else with little or no experience do it". I understand outsourcing and its benefits but I don't understand this at all. I don't know any other company that has outsourced at this level. Banks don't outsource banking, software companies don't outsource their software so why would an airplane manufacturer outsource its core business.
I lay this firmly at the feet of McNerny and his bean counters in Seattle, Chicago, or wherever they hell they decided to move the company.
gadling Jun 23rd 2009 4:14PM
Karma!