Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is already 15 months late, but delivery delays will back up the fuel-efficient jets by about another year, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Lease Financial Corp., the main buyer of 787s, will take delivery of its 74 planes 27 months late, and observers expect Boeing to pay up to $4 billion in penalties to compensate irate buyers.
Air Canada is in a bind too: Its 37 Dreamliners will likely arrive 2 or more years behind schedule. The airline has kept its fleet young though, and CEO Montie Brewer worries for others who failed to prepare for rising gas prices: “Just imagine if we were like other carriers that haven't brought in a new efficient fleet to weather this storm," he said. (More Boeing stories.)