Boeing said on Monday it would update investors on the progress of its 787 Dreamliner on Wednesday, likely heralding a widely anticipated further six- to nine-month delay for the troubled jet.
Such a setback would be the third major change to the original schedule and put first delivery of the lightweight, fuel-efficient aircraft 18 months behind the original target.
Problems with a shortage of parts, redesigned components and a widespread supplier base have bedeviled Boeing since it started major assembly on the first 787 last May.
The mid-sized, wide-body plane -- which has not yet left the ground for tests -- was originally scheduled for first delivery next month.
Analysts and industry experts now expect first delivery, to Japan's All Nippon Airways, as late as September 2009.
The long delay will likely cost Boeing millions of dollars in compensation payments to airlines, and is an embarrassing loss of face for the US plane maker shortly after rival Airbus suffered a two year delay bringing its A380 superjumbo to market.
The long-expected update will be the first new information from Boeing on the program since late January. It is a chance for the company to explain the lack of progress on the plane and reset delivery targets that Wall Street lost confidence in months ago.
"Bad information drives out the good," said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace consultant at Teal Group. "As long as Boeing has a completely untenable (delivery) number out there, it casts suspicion over any other information provided."
Boeing is still officially sticking to its target of delivering 109 787s by the end of 2009. Given the delays, analysts now expect only 10 to 45 of the planes to be delivered in that time.
The company has been reassessing the 787 program for the past few months, and was expected to announce a new delivery schedule either early this month or on April 23, when Boeing reports first-quarter earnings.
The expected delay would come on top of two previous major setbacks announced in October and January, which have already put the project nine months behind schedule.
