KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand remains confident its Boeing 787 Dreamliners will be delivered on time despite signs of increasing production delays.
Boeing is poised to announce that first deliveries of the carbon composite aircraft will be delayed by a further three months, leaving the programme up to 10 months
behind schedule.
Air New Zealand is paying $1.68 billion for eight long-range 787-9 aircraft, due to be delivered from the end of 2010.
A spokesman said Air New Zealand continued to be reassured by Boeing that the 787-9 programme remained on schedule.
"In the event that Air New Zealand does experience any delivery delays, we have retained sufficient flexibility in our portfolio of leased and owned aircraft to ensure no capacity shortfall arises and we can continue to support existing demand and our expansion plans," he said.
When Boeing announced delays last October, it said it would only affect production of the shorter-range 787-8 series.
But any significant delay for the longer-range planes would deal a blow to Air New Zealand's long-haul strategy. Although it has not finalised routes, the aircraft have a range of up to 16,300km and therefore the capability to fly direct to South Africa, India, South America, Asia and deep into China and North America.
The Dreamliner also uses about 20 per cent less fuel than comparable aircraft and is a part of the airline's drive to cut running costs.
Boeing pushed back the maiden flight of the aircraft from last August to about the end of the first quarter this year because of supply chain problems.
First deliveries of the 787 to Japan's All Nippon Airways had been delayed from May this year to late November or December, and Boeing's expected announcement will push this into early next year.
Boeing has taken orders for 817 Dreamliners from 53 airlines and leasing firms, worth US$135 billion ($173 billion) at list prices.
In the development of the 787 - Boeing's biggest new aircraft project in a decade and one of the most successful launches in history - there had been positive signs it would avoid the long delays that have dogged its European rival Airbus.
Now it appears that Boeing faces the threat of joining Airbus in having to make hefty penalty payments.
Boeing's stock has fallen 28 per cent from the all-time high last July. Shares yesterday closed down US$3.81, or 4.7 per cent, at US$77.86.
- additional reporting Reuters