Thomson Airways, formed by the merger of Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways, will become the first European carrier to operate the Dreamliner.
It had originally hoped to take delivery of its first Dreamliner in 2009 but that deadline had already been pushed back to 2010 because of development problems.
A statement from Boeing on Thursday said the Dreamliner’s first flight is now being moved into the second quarter of 2009 and first delivery into the first quarter of 2010.
The 787 had previously been due to make its first flight late in the fourth quarter of 2008, and first delivery was set for the third quarter of 2009.
Boeing blamed the latest postponement on disruption caused by a recent machinists’ strike and the requirement to replace certain fasteners in early production aircraft.
Thomson Airways said in a statement: ‘We shall be holding discussions with Boeing to better understand the implications of this announcement for Thomson Airways.
‘As the launch customer of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Thomson Airways looks forward to putting into service the 23 fuel-efficient Dreamliners it has ordered for its long-haul routes. This aircraft will offer our customers increased comfort onboard as well as a more energy efficient way of flying.’
The aircraft should enable Thomson Airways to operate more flights to long-haul destinations from regional airports.
Boeing is evaluating the specific impact of the delay on delivery dates and will provide customers with updated schedules once the evaluation has been completed. Other 787 customers include British Airways and Monarch.
The machinists’ strike also hit deliveries of new Ryanair aircraft, forcing the budget carrier to delay opening its Edinburgh base.
Related news from e-tid.com:
Boeing strike forces Ryanair Edinburgh delay (10/09/08)
Rebrand for Thomsonfly/First Choice Airways (16/06/08)
Boeing postpones Dreamliner again (09/04/08)
Dreamliner suffers another setback (17/01/08)
On-time arrival for TUI's 787s (29/11/07)
Dreamliner debut pushed back six months (11/10/07)