New Schedule Up for the 787 Dreamliner

Boeing expects to fly the 787 Dreamliner by the end of this year, and deliver the first one in the last quarter of next year.

Once the last bugs are worked out, and the process is finalized, they estimate they will be able to produce ten 787s per month by 2013.

There are also notes that Boeing making plans to open a second Boeing 787 Final Assembly Plant in Charleston, South Carolina. The issue of whether or not such a plant will be opened is not confirmed, and will not be till the end of the year, but the permits take a long time to get, and the company wishes to be prepared. Charleston is on the short list, along with a second plant in Everett, Washington, where the existing 787 facility is.

We think they should build the plant. Increasing production of the 787 to catch up with the delay caused by design issues is a good way to restore confidence in the project. We look forward not only to flying the Dreamliner, but seeing some of its comfort features incorporated into other Boeing products.

Related articles by Zemanta

• An inside look at Boeing’s 787 Production Integration Center (seattlepi.com)
• Coping with Boeing’s ‘Flight to the South’ (crosscut.com)