Dreamliner debuts but delays persist

THE Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its official public debut at the Farnborough Airshow in July as the type edges nearer to entering commercial service.

The aircraft, ordered in large numbers by major airlines around the world, will play a significant role in adding new bellyhold capacity. The 787 can accommodate up to 28 LD-3 containers or nine standard pallets in its cargo hold.

However, the manufacturer is facing increasing criticism of the delays in delivering the aircraft.

Boeing now admits that the first deliveries to ANA might slip into early 2011, leaving airline bosses fuming.

Arvind Jadhav, the managing director of Air India, launched a ferocious broadside at the show describing Boeing’s delivery schedule as a “total disaster”.

“We haven’t got any confidence of the delivery schedules of Boeing. They said ‘it will come tomorrow, it will come tomorrow’. It didn’t come.”