Boeing denies media report on 787 delivery delay

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) denied a German media report on Saturday it had informed customers of another delay on its new 787 Dreamliner model.

"There has been no change since our announcement in April," said Yvonne Leach, a spokeswoman in Seattle, adding that, on average, delays would put deliveries about 20 months behind schedule.

German daily Die Welt reported on Saturday, quoting a letter from Boeing to customers, the delay would affect deliveries planned for 2012 and push them 27 months behind schedule.

Early last month Boeing announced the third major delay on the 787 as it makes slow progress on assembling the plane and continues to grapple with underperforming suppliers.

None of the 55 or so airlines which have bought the plane have cancelled their orders, but many have said they will seek compensation for late deliveries.

The delay mirrors the long-running wiring problems on Airbus' A380 superjumbo, which ended up two years late and put a big hole in the finances of parent EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

German magazine WirtschaftsWoche said in a preview of a story to be published on Monday that Airbus would have to delay deliveries of A380's scheduled for 2009. It said Airbus had also Hinformed customers of the delay in a letter.

Both Boeing and Airbus have played down expectations for plane orders this year, after the unprecedented boom which resulted in 2,754 orders between them last year.

Most analysts are expecting about half that number this year.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske)