Fresh delays for Boeing's Dreamliner

AIRCRAFT maker Boeing has delayed delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner plane until the third quarter of the year following an electrical fire during a test flight in November.

But shares in the US group rose in early trading as commentators had feared that the latest delays could have been longer.

The Dreamliner is already nearly three years behind its original schedule due to glitches in the supply chain and industrial unrest in its workforce.

Robert Stallard, an aerospace analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said: "We think investors widely expected a delay of this magnitude, and given the recovery in the stock price, have become comfortable that the 787 problems are not a show stopper, and will not have a meaningful impact on the positive trajectory of this aerospace upcycle."

Boeing said the new delivery date reflects the impact of the November fire and the time required to produce, install and test updated software and electrical power distribution panels.

The company has 847 orders for the Dreamliner, which promises a "quieter and more comfortable ride for passengers". The first planes are due for Japan's All Nippon Airways.

The first Dreamliner delivery has been delayed repeatedly due to snags in the supply chain. Boeing last revised the 787 delivery schedule in September because of a delay in the availability of a Rolls-Royce engine needed for the final phases of flight testing.