All Nippon Airways chief denies delay on Dreamliner delivery

17 May 2007

Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark: Boeing's long-awaited 7E7 Dreamliner will be delivered on time, according to Mineo Yamamoto, president and chief executive of Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA). Yamamoto said that his airline and Boeing are in regular touch, and so far, there had been no talk about delays at Boeing's end.

Boeing has stressed repeatedly that the prestigious 7E7 Dreamliner programme has not suffered from any delays, and that it would meet the all-important delivery commitment to ANA, its launch customer.

"There has been no talk about delays or anything like that," Yamamoto said in an interview Monday in Copenhagen, Denmark with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

After a series of proving flights, Yamamoto said, the airline would probably start passenger service within a couple of months of the first delivery of the plane.

ANA placed a firm order for 50 7E7s in April 2004, worth approximately $6bn at list prices, which was the largest launch order in history for a new Boeing commercial jet.

ANA has also been the launch customer for Boeing's 767 and 777 programmes as well.