30 April,2009 06:20 AM IST | | IANS
Test flights for the much-delayed Boeing Dreamliner are due to start in June and the first customers are on schedule to receive the plane in the first quarter of 2010, the US aviation company said Wednesday.
Test flights for the aircraft have been delayed for more than two years, but Boeing has now filed 60 percent of the paperwork needed for certification of the 787, Mike Delaney, chief project engineer of the 787 programme, said at a press conference.
Boeing will use six 787's for the test flight programme, four of which will be powered by Rolls Royce engines and two of which will use engines made by General Electric. In total the test programme will include more than 3,000 air hours.
Some 900 Dreamliners have been ordered so far, making the mid-sized, wide-body jet the fastest-selling wide-body airliner in history. The planes cost about $200 million each and Japan's All Nippon Airlines is slated to be the first customer.
ALSO READ
Boeing issues layoff notices to 400-plus workers as it begins drastic cuts
Boeing says it will take several weeks to resume production of planes after strike
IndiGo working with civil aviation ministry to extend wet lease of Boeing 777 planes
Boeing's machinists strike is over but troubled aerospace giant still faces many challenges
Donald Trump boards garbage truck to draw attention to Biden remark
Boeing expects the plane to be about 20 percent more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767 it is designed to replace.
u00a0
