Boeing faces the possibility of China Eastern Airlines canceling its order for 15 Boeing 787s owing to continuous delays. An unnamed source said, "Most probably we will cancel."
This would be another setback for the Dreamliner program. Flight testing was indefinitely suspended following a November 9 in-flight fire. The manufacturer is widely expected to delay first delivery by another six to nine months.Boeing has said it is developing "minor design changes" to power distribution panels on the 787. It added that a revised 787 program schedule "is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks."
One forecast is that Boeing will only deliver eight aircraft in 2011 instead of the 29 it had planned. Air Transport World reports China Eastern placed its Dreamliner order in 2005 and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Airlines, also has nine 787s on order.