Dreamliner sales take a nosedive
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Seems Boeing’s Dreamliner is having a hard time these days.
Earlier this week, the aircraft maker delayed the inaugural flight of its newest airplane. Today, there’s news of 15 canceled orders for the plane also known as the 787. That’s from the company’s biggest customer, the Australian carrier Qantas. The latest on the bumpy ride, from Marketplace’s Jeremy Hobson.
Jeremy Hobson: The cancellation amounts to half of the Dreamliners Qantas had asked for. The airline is also delaying delivery of another 15 of the Dreamliners it’s still buying.
Qantas’s Chief Executive blamed the move on tough market conditions — perhaps the worst in the airline industry’s history.
Aviation writer Matt O’Sullivan of the Sydney Morning Herald says it’s a real hit for Boeing:
Matt O’Sullivan: Its future does to a large extent rely on the success or otherwise of the Dreamliner, so you know when you’ve got your largest customer saying, sorry, but we’re going to rescind on at least some of our orders, then it’s a real problem.
O’Sullivan says Boeing’s announcement earlier this week that it’s delaying the plane’s first flight may have also been a factor, or at least an excuse for Qantas. So far this year, Boeing has lost 58 orders for the carbon fiber Dreamliner.
In New York, I’m Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.
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