Boeing Dreamliner Hurdles New Production Hiccup, Flags Higher Output by 2014
Boeing admitted this week that yet another issue hit its Dreamliner production line but one high-ranking executive has assured that no more delays will hamper its delivery calendar in the current year.
Already dealing with production backlogs of three years, mostly caused by labour unrests and supply shortage, Boeing said that the glitch has been identified and adjustments have been made to correct the problem.
In fact, the Boeing production lines are slated to be reconfigured to accommodate as much as 10 planes completion each month, coming from its present capacity of two planes, three at the maximum, for every 30-day cycle.
The new production goal will be realised by the end of 2013, according to Boeing vice president for 787 development Mark Jenks.
Jenks also revealed that shimming problem or precise fitting between the Dreamliner's body parts was identified by Boeing engineers as the new glitch, which he added has been dealt with.
"It's a pretty straightforward issue ... and it shouldn't have any significant impact on our production ramp-up," Jenks was reported by the Associated Press (AP) as saying during a news briefing in Singapore on Sunday.
"We should need to go through a process of inspecting other planes. If they require any work we can do it fairly quickly," Jenks added.
He admitted though that all the production glitches hampering the Dreamliner's full roll out has been frustrating "and we'd rather it not happen."
"We've really moved from some things that early on hit us that really were sort of unusual with the new technology, now to these kinds of things which really aren't that different from the problems we always have to face when we ramp up production," Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the Boeing official as saying.
Yet he emphasised that Boeing is currently focused on increasing its production capacity and deliver two models of the commercial aircraft by 2014.
Production of two Dreamliner versions, the 787-8 and the 787-9, are now underway and Boeing is considering the possibility of adding a larger model, the 787-10, which Jenks said will more passenger capacity.
The first two Dreamliner editions can take in between 210 to 290 passengers in a single haul and the first delivery was made to Japan's All Nippon Airways late last year.
To date, Boeing has attracted 59 airlines from around the world to order 870 new 787s, which promise 20 percent more fuel mileage and operating savings of up to 30 percent.