Boeing Announces New 787 Schedule and Third-Quarter Charge

CHICAGO, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) 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.
The company projects achieving a production rate of 10 airplanes per month in
late 2013.

"This new schedule provides us the time needed to complete the remaining work
necessary to put the 787's game-changing capability in the hands of our
customers," said Boeing Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim
McNerney. "The design details and implementation plan are nearly complete,
and the team is preparing airplanes for modification and testing."

Based on the revised schedule and other assumption updates, the company has
determined that the 787 program is not in a forward-loss position.

However, separate from the updated program profitability assessment, the
company has concluded that the initial flight-test airplanes have no
commercial market value beyond the development effort due to the inordinate
amount of rework and unique and extensive modifications made to those
aircraft. Therefore, costs previously recorded for the first three
flight-test airplanes will be reclassified from program inventory to research
and development expense, resulting in an estimated non-cash charge of $2.5
billion pre-tax, or $2.21 per share, against third-quarter results. This
charge will have no impact on the company's cash outlook going forward.

The 787 team working the side-of-body reinforcement has completed initial
testing and is finalizing design details of new fittings that are expected to
ensure full structural integrity of the joint. The static test procedure that
uncovered the issue will be repeated and the results fully analyzed before
first flight is conducted. Fatigue testing also will be performed on stringer
components to validate the long-term durability of the modification.

The first 787 test airplane and static test unit have been prepared for the
new fittings. Installation is expected to begin within the next few weeks.

Boeing will discuss this announcement during a webcast starting at 10:00 a.m.
EDT today. That webcast is accessible through www.boeing.com. The company
will update its 2009 financial guidance in October when it reports
third-quarter results.

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Contact:
787 Program Communications: Yvonne Leach (206) 854-5027
Communications: Todd Blecher (312) 544-2002
Investor Relations: Diana Sands or Rob Young (312) 544-2140

SOURCE The Boeing Company

787 Program Communications, Yvonne Leach, +1-206-854-5027, or Communications,
Todd Blecher, +1-312-544-2002, or Investor Relations, Diana Sands or Rob
Young, +1-312-544-2140, all of The Boeing Company