Boeing Dreamliner Delayed Again (BA)

According to an article in the Seattle Times, Boeing

is preparing to announce another delay for its 787 Dreamliner which is expected to be at least three months and possibly six or more. Furthermore, the story suggests that problems go "well beyond" this most recent delay which was caused by an in-flight electrical fire and has grounded test planes. The fire caused numerous systems failures. This is in addition to two major problems with the plane's Rolls-Royce engine. A top FAA official warned the company that if the plane's reliability cannot be confirmed, it won't be certified to fly intercontinental routes, which is the purpose of the Dreamliner. According to a senior engineer, "the amount of stuff we are finding is horrible. We shouldn't be dealing with this many issues this late in the program." The Dreamliner is already almost 3 years overdue, and analysts are anticipating BA's cost overruns at over $12 billion or more. The head of the 787 program, Scott Fancher, told the Times in an interview that his team has "a tough job in front of us." He added, "There's no doubt we've had a lot of challenges. The development of a new airplane is hard, especially one with as much innovation as this."