Boeing says more 787 delays probable

By Kirby Chien

BEIJING (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said delivery of its new 787 Dreamliner to China probably would be delayed, but the ongoing strike made it impossible to say when passengers would be able to ride in the ultra modern plane.

The company's latest quarterly profit fell 38 percent as a seven-week strike by its jetliner assembly workers wiped out almost a month of production at its Seattle-area plants.

Boeing has orders for nearly 900 of the fuel-efficient Dreamliner, 60 of which are from Chinese airlines. The planes were to have been delivered to the Chinese airlines starting in the third quarter of next year.

"Because of the strike that is ongoing at Boeing there will probably be some delay to that," John Bruns, a vice president of China operations, told Reuters in an interview.

"But, we just don't know the impact yet," he said.

Industry analysts had expected another delay to the plane, which is already at least 16 months behind schedule.

Boeing and union officials were scheduled to resume talks with the help of a federal mediator on Thursday, but they have so far struggled to find common ground on the key issue of outsourcing.

China is a focus for Boeing and rival EADS' (EAD.PA) Airbus unit as its booming economy is expected to require another 3,400 long-haul planes over the next 20 years, and as a base of production for key parts such as rudders, fairing panels and other composite parts.

The mainland received its first kits for Airbus' 150-seat A320 earlier this year, the consortium's first effort to move assembly outside Europe, as it cuts thousands of jobs at home and aims to reduce costs and increase profitability.

For Boeing's part, it has bought a total of $1 billion in hardware and services from China since the 1980s, and has $2.5 billion in active contracts with Chinese firms that feed into Boeing's global supply chain.

"China is a major and growing part" of Boeing's global supply chain, said Bruns.

Chicago-based Boeing, which outsold Airbus last year, has several investments in China that include ventures that convert passenger planes into freighters, and upgrade interiors, avionics and entertainment systems.

($=6.83 yuan)

(Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Ken Wills)