Boeing delays 787 Dreamliner for third time

By Bill Rigby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) delayed its 787 Dreamliner for the third time on Wednesday, pushing the program about 15 months behind schedule, as it makes slow progress on assembling the revolutionary carbon-composite plane and continues to grapple with underperforming suppliers.

The delay was at the low end of Wall Street's expectations, as the U.S. plane maker had already admitted to problems with late redesigns of the new aircraft and the amount of work being done at its Everett, Washington, plant that should have been completed by suppliers.

Boeing shares, which had plunged 30 percent since last summer on worries about the 787, were up $3.69 or 4.9 percent to $78.71 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"It appears that Boeing has finally produced a realistic timetable, even if first deliveries are now five quarters delayed from their initial schedule," said Michael Derchin at FTN Midwest Securities Corp in a research note. "Execution of the new plan is critical and any slippages from here would be negatively received."

The Chicago-based company is mirroring the costly and embarrassing problems at arch-rival Airbus, which ended up two years late with its A380 superjumbo.

Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), mostly suffered problems with wiring on its giant jet, whereas Boeing is struggling with a wider range of issues due to its global supply network.

Boeing's plan was to outsource almost all major manufacturing to outside companies and then assemble the plane in Everett. It has since found that such a decentralized structure makes it hard to keep a check on suppliers' mistakes and delays.

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