787 Dreamliner “Execution Was Not Good” – Boeing CEO

The chairman and CEO of Boeing today admitted that the execution of the plane maker’s troubled 787 Dreamliner programme “was not good”, describing the failings of the craft pre and post launch.

The first Dreamliner was delivered in 2011, three years behind schedule, with the craft suffering a series of problems post launch.

Initial issues with the 787’s engines and fuselage were followed by fuel leaks, cracks in the windshield, and later malfunctioning lithium-ion batteries, causing the entire global fleet to be grounded in January this year.

“We implemented technologies that were too quick to the market place, hadn’t fully matured yet,” admitted Jim McNerney, on stage at the What’s Next? conference in Abu Dhabi.

“It ended up costing us a lot more money than we had anticipated and it was difficult for many people in our organisation and our customers,” he added.

In May, Boeing suffered further setbacks after discovering hairline fractures on the wings of its yet to be delivered 787s, resulting in additional delays to the manufacturer’s target delivery dates.

Deferred production costs related to the 787 programme crossed Boeing’s $25 billion forecast for the programme in the third quarter of this year.

“The programme is profitable, but I think it’s fair to say we were not as profitable as we hoped to be at this stage,” McNerney said.

Despite the 787’s problems, the aeroplane manufacturer saw a record order backlog during its fiscal third quarter at $490 billion, with a 7 per cent increase in revenue year-on-year to $23.8 billion and 13 per cent increase in net income to $2.4 billion.