Boeing to delay first Dreamliner flight

Boeing said Tuesday it would delay the first flight and delivery of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the latest postponement in a program seen as a key to the aerospace giant's future.

Boeing said in a statement the delay was "due to a need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft. "

Boeing said a new schedule for the first flight and delivery would be available in "several weeks" and that in the interim the 787 team will continue with other aspects of testing.

It added that the need "was identified during the recent regularly scheduled tests on the full-scale static test airplane."

"Preliminary analysis indicated that flight test could proceed this month as planned. However, after further testing and consideration of possible modified flight test plans, the decision was made late last week that first flight should instead be postponed until productive flight testing could occur," the company said.

The company set a news conference for 1400 GMT to announce details of the latest delay.

Boeing had planned for the much-delayed Dreamliner to have its maiden flight by June 30 on a schedule that puts delivery of the plane to first customer, All Nippon Airways (ANA), in the first quarter of 2010.