Boeing 787 On Track For Q1 2010 Delivery

February 10, 2009

Boeing's delayed 787 Dreamliner remains on track for its first deliveries in the first quarter of 2010, Scott Carson, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said on Tuesday.

The company pushed back the 787 delivery schedule for a fourth time in December, making its plane almost two years late and risking cancellations from angry airlines.

Carson said that Boeing's record order backlog would serve the company well as economic recession "continues to challenge every region of the world."

The company is working to backfill orders that were deferred due to the bad economy, he said.

"We are, as I said, feeling good about 2009, cautiously optimistic about 2010, but prepared to make the rate adjustments we need to," Carson said.

He said that if Boeing had to slow 737 production it might be in the region of 10 percent in 2010.

Boeing would continue to split the market with Airbus, he said, but added new Russian, Brazilian, Chinese, Canadian and Japanese competitors aspired to enter the marketplace.

"We cannot be dismissive of... their attempts," Carson said.