SEATTLE,
May 19 (Xinhua) -- Boeing said Monday that the long-expected 787 Dreamliner is
near completion and would embark on a first test flight in the last quarter of
this year.
Boeing also pledged to deliver the first batch of 25
dreamliners in the third quarter of 2009.
The pledge came one month after the world's major
aircraft maker postponed the jet's debut in commercial service until the third
quarter of 2009. The latest delay was the third revision to its delivery
schedule.
The 787 Dreamliner, the world's first mostly
composite commercial airplane, rolled out of the hangar on July 8 last year with
great fanfare, but it has failed to enter into commercial service due to
repeated delays in deliveries.
To defuse disappointment and confusion that might be
resulted from such delays, Boeing invited a group of domestic and foreign
reporters to the dreamliner's assembly site in Everett, Seattle, on Monday to
take a close look at production.
The program has overcome parts shortages and hiccups
in its new, decentralized manufacturing model and is making steady progress
toward the airliner's much-delayed first flight, said Patrick Shanahan, General
Manager of the program.
The jetliners "is on track" for a June "power on"
milestone, and subsequent planes are arriving at the final assembly floor in
better and better shape, he added.
Most of 787's major parts are outsourced around the
world before they are shipped to Everett for final assembly.
Since October, Boeing has announced three major 787
delays, but Boeing CEO James McNerney has said Boeing finally has a revised
schedule that it can meet -- first flight in the fourth quarter, initial
deliveries pushed back from May until the third quarter of 2009, and 25
Dreamliners delivered by the end of 2009 rather than 112 as originally planned.
The company said in a press release that despite the
delays, the 787 market "remains strong." Since Boeing launched the program in
2004, 58 customers have placed orders for 896 airplanes from six continents of
the world valued at 151 billion U.S. dollars, making this the most successful
launch of a new commercial airplane in Boeing's history, according to the
release.
But failure to deliver the airplanes on time will
likely cost the company billions of dollars in additional costs and penalties.
Described as environment-friendly, Boeing said the
787 will use20 percent less fuel per passenger than similarly sized airplanes,
produce fewer carbon emission, and have quieter takeoffs and landings.
The passengers will have more humid air and larger
windows in the cabin, as well as softer lighting automatically adjusting with
the time of day or night, the company said.
