COLUMBIA (WACH, AP) -- Boeing Co. is pushing back the delivery date for its new 787 until at least July.
The jet has been delayed several times already. Its most recent delivery target was for next month. But an electrical fire on a test plane in November put a halt to flight testing. Another delay has been widely expected ever since the fire.
The plane took off on its maiden test flight in December 2009, but has suffered several delays since.
Boeing said on Tuesday that it expects to deliver the plane during the third quarter, which would be between July and the end of September. It says it extra time has been built into the new schedule in case anything else goes wrong.
The plane needs to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration before it can be delivered. Flight testing for the certification resumed on Monday.
In October 2009 the company picked South Carolina for a second site to build its latest jetliner, expanding from its longtime Washington manufacturing base to take advantage of incentives and a nonunion work force.
While there have been several delays in 787 testing, as of September the company still expects the 1.2 million square-foot North Charleston production plant to open by July 2011. The facility will be big enough for two of the new jets to fit side-by-side.
The 787 remains Boeing's best-selling new plane to date, though some airlines have been forced to cancel or postpone purchase plans due to the weak global economy.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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