The company’s first 787 to fly, ZA001, along with the static test airframe, ZY997, are currently undergoing modification to return full static strength to the upper stringers of the structure that joins the wing to the side of body of the aircraft. Boeing says the entire process of preparation, installation and restoration will take about three months, with programme sources indicating that the installation itself will take roughly 30 days to complete.
The Boeing Company today announced that the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner is expected by the end of 2009 and first delivery is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2010. The new schedule reflects the previously announced need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft, along with the addition of several weeks of schedule margin to reduce flight test and certification risk.
Following up on Boeing President and Chief Executive Jim McNerney’s question-and-answer session with analysts Wednesday, FlightBlogger noted that McNerney talked as if a redo of the 777 was a certainty.
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Singapore Airlines has reached an agreement with Airbus to defer the delivery of eight Airbus A380s that it has on order, by between six months and a year. … Under the revised delivery schedule, however, Airbus will deliver the 12th aircraft in October 2010 rather than April 2010.
American Airlines on Monday operated its final flight with an Airbus A300 jet, retiring the model it pioneered more than two decades ago when it could not get Boeing 767s quickly enough to meet its needs. At one time, American flew 35 of the wide-body aircraft, but the airline has been phasing out the older planes as it trims capacity.
