Reuters reports that German daily Die Welt quotes a customer letter saying that Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) just announced the fourth delay in delivering its 787 Dreamliner. It was originally scheduled for this month but if Die Welt is right about the fourth delay -- which would affect deliveries scheduled for 2012 -- the 787 would now be 27 months behind schedule. But Boeing denies the report.
The good news as of now is that none of the 55 customers who ordered 787s -- creating a $151 billion backlog -- have canceled. Last month the CourierPost reported that the three initial delays would cost Boeing $4 billion cancellation fees. No word on how much this fourth delay will add to that cost -- if the report proves to be true.
But 2008 is turning out to be far worse year for aircraft orders than 2007 was. Both Boeing and Airbus have played down expectations for plane orders this year, after the record 2,754 orders between them last year. Most analysts are expecting about half that number this year.
However, Boeing denies the report of the fourth delay. According to Yvonne Leach, a spokeswoman in Seattle, "There has been no change since our announcement in April." She added that, on average, delays would put deliveries about 20 months behind.
Is Leach right? We'll find out someday. Meanwhile, Boeing CEO James McNerney can't be happy about this latest report. I hope for Boeing's sake that it's the last.
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter
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