Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR.NZ) said Wednesday it is disappointed by news that U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA) has for the fifth time fallen behind its schedule to deliver its 787 Dreamliner aircraft to customers.

"We are disappointed by the delay of the first 787 flight and await advice from Boeing as to whether it will have any impact on the delivery schedule for the 787-9, for which we are the launch customer," Air NZ wrote to Dow Jones Newswires in an email.

Announcing the delay, 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 has encountered technical problems constructing a vital part of the revolutionary carbon-composite plane.

Air New Zealand has eight 787-9 aircraft on order, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2013. That schedule is 12 months later than promised to Air New Zealand in December, 2008, whereas the initial delivery date had been around the end of 2010.

Air NZ said in December that compensation discussions were continuing.

-By Simon Louisson, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; simon.louisson@dowjones.com
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