Why is the Boeing 787 being delayed from being put into service?

Question

I thought it was supposed to be in service earlier this year.

Answer 1

David gives a good answer but it boils down to a shortage of fasteners for the initial delay. Also a supplier recently damaged a component needed for the assembly of one of the test aircraft but according to Boeing should not cause any further delays.

Answer 2

that was before the costs went so high that they ran out of money. Dont you read the papers???

Answer 3

I apologize for this bit of copy&pasting but I'm really lazy today. Sorry.

Development problems and delays

Boeing decided to change its basic assembly approach beginning with the 787. Rather than receive individual parts and assemble them in Everett, Washington, Boeing assigned its subcontractors to do more assembly themselves and deliver completed subsystems to Boeing. Boeing would then perform final assembly. The major benefits of this approach are a leaner and simpler assembly line and lower inventory; its success depends to the degree to which suppliers can perform the extra work. Some subcontractors have had difficulty completing the extra work, because they could not procure the needed parts, perform the subassembly on schedule, or both. The remaining assembly work is left for Boeing to complete and is referred to as "traveled work".

Boeing premiered the first 787 at a rollout ceremony on July 8, 2007, which matches the aircraft's designation in the US-style month-day-year format (7/08/07). However, some of the aircraft's major systems had not been installed at that time, and many parts were attached with temporary non-aerospace fasteners requiring their later replacement with flight fasteners. Boeing had originally planned for a first flight by the end of September 2007, but on September 5 announced a three-month delay, ***blaming a shortage of fasteners as well as incomplete software.***

On October 10, 2007 a second three-month delay to the first flight and a six-month delay to first deliveries was announced. Boeing cited problems with its foreign and domestic supply chain for the delay, especially the ****ongoing fastener shortage, the lack of documentation from overseas suppliers, and continuing delays with the flight guidance software.**** Less than a week later, the 787 program manager was replaced, although the delivery delays were not cited as a reason for the change.

On January 16, 2008 Boeing announced a third three-month delay to the first flight of the 787, with deliveries to launch customer All Nippon Airways postponed until early 2009. The Company said that insufficient progress had been made completing work that was originally planned to be carried out by suppliers.

On March 28, 2008, Boeing announced that it plans to buy Vought Aircraft Industries' interest in Global Aeronautica, owner of the South Carolina plant that manufacturers major portions of the 787's fuselage. The purchase will make the assembly plant a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica.

On April 9, 2008, Boeing officially announced a fourth delay, shifting the maiden flight to the fourth quarter of 2008, and delaying initial deliveries by around 15 months to the third quarter of 2009. The new schedule included extra time in the testing phase to accommodate unforeseen delays.While the April 2008 announcement did not directly address delivery schedules, the production rates had previously been planned to increase to 10 per month by 2010, and possibly as high as 16 per month thereafter. Information subsequent to the announcement indicated that the production ramp-up would also be slower than previously expected, with only 25 aircraft delivered by the end of 2009 compared to the 120 originally planned. Later deliveries are now expected to be delayed by up to 30 months.

In order to keep Boeing's latest schedule, the 787 must complete flight testing over three quarters, in line with the 9 month flight test campaign originally stated. In September 2007, after announcing delays, Mike Bair said that Boeing would keep the Certification Date using six flight-test 787s at a rate of 120 FT hours per month, higher than the 70-80 FT hours per month used in previous planes. Boeing's previous major aircraft, the 777, took 11 months with nine aircraft flying 7000 FT Hours, partly to demonstrate 180 min-ETOPS, one of its main features.

Answer 4

Boeing outsourced a lot of the 787's production outside the factory, so the delay has to do with shortage of fasteners and inability of the suppliers to deliver the produced parts on time for final assembly.