Boeing delays launch of 787 Dreamliner

If you are hoping to gain bragging rights by booking one of the first commercial flights on the new 787, you’ll have to postpone your plans a bit. Boeing said last week that delays in construction of its first 787 Dreamliner will delay the first flight of the next-generation airplane by a few months, and will require initial deliveries to be pushed back from late 2008 to early 2009. The first 787s are due to be delivered to Japan’s All Nippon Airways, which has ordered 50 of them, and to Air New Zealand; the North American launch customer for the plane is Continental Airlines.