Dreamliner Delays May Drive JAL Away

Longtime customer weighs defecting from Boeing to Airbus

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:23 PM CST

(Newser) – Japan Airlines may abandon its plan to stock up on Boeing Dreamliners because of tie-ups in production of the new 787, Reuters reports. The carrier, a loyal Boeing customer, planned to buy 55 Dreamliners, but the delivery date has slipped again, to early 2009. Now JAL is checking out the Airbus A350 XWB, which would allow it to offset fuel costs by flying more midsize planes.

“The risk of procuring from one firm for our next-generation planes is large," said a JAL exec. "We should procure from more than one.” Boeing remains the top dog in its field, but its customers are getting itchy after delays in production of the eagerly awaited 787. Boeing has advance orders for 857 of the aircraft, worth $140 billion.

[Images (6)]

[Videos (2)]

In this computer rendering Oct. 6, 2006 file image made available by Airbus, Airbus' planned twin-engine, medium capacity family of aircraft, the A350 XWB, is seen. Japan Airlines is considering purchasing... (Associated Press)

Aircrafts of Japan's top carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) are parked on the tarmac of Tokyo's Haneda Airport , Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) (Associated Press)

This computer generated image provided by Airbus Monday, June 18, 2007, shows an Airbus A350 bearing the colors of the US Airways. Japan Airlines is considering purchasing A350 XWB planes. (AP Photo/Airbus,... (Associated Press)

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, second left, listens to Airbus chief Louis Gallois, left, as French Defense Minister Herve Morin, third left, looks on, while looking at a model of an Airbus A350-XWB... (Associated Press)

Aircrafts of Japan's top carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) are parked on the tarmac of Tokyo's Haneda Airport , Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. The company may buy Airbus crafts in place of some Boeing 787s. (AP Photo/Itsuo... (Associated Press)

An Airbus A380 is directed after its first alternative fuel test flight between Filton, England, and Toulouse, southwestern France, Friday Feb. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Remy Gabalda) (Associated Press)

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Dreamliner Delays May Drive JAL Away