Boeing Co. (BA) on Friday received final approval from U.S. and European regulators for the delayed 787 Dreamliner to enter commercial service, with launch customer All Nippon Airways Co. (9202.TO) set to receive its first plane Sept. 26.

The announcement ends a 40-month wait for the new widebody plane after a series of production and design delays. ANA plans to fly its first jet from Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash., on Sept. 27, arriving in Tokyo the next day.

ANA had been due to receive its first 787 in May 2008, having launched the program with a 50-plane order--later increased to 55--in April 2004. Boeing has been forced to compensate customers for its late arrival, raising question marks over the profitability of the program.

The first delivery to ANA will trigger the release by Boeing of the accounting treatment for the 787 program with its third-quarter results in October. The company has said the 787 remains profitable, though analysts expect it to lose money on the first few hundred planes. It has firm orders for more than 800.

The Japanese airline expects to receive 11 more 787s by the end of March, followed by another eight in the next fiscal year through March 2013.

The plane received its final approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency at a ceremony in Everett.

Boeing's new 747-8F, a revamped cargo version of its jumbo jet that was also behind schedule, received FAA approval last week.

-By Hiroyuki Kachi and Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2789; Hiroyuki.Kachi@dowjones.com

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