Dreamliner rollout delayed for six months

CHICAGO, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner will be delayed six months due to challenges completing assembly of the first airplanes, Boeing said in Chicago.

Deliveries of the Dreamliner are now scheduled to begin in late November or December 2008, instead of the original target of May 2008, Boeing said in a news release.

The company said its earnings guidance for 2007 and 2008 remained unchanged despite the delay.

"We are disappointed over the schedule changes that we are announcing (Wednesday)," said Jim McNerney Jr., Boeing chairman, president and chief executive officer. "(We) remain confident in the design of the 787, and in the fundamental innovation and technologies that underpin it."