Boeing Co. is confident it can meet its goal to roll its first 787 "Dreamliner" jet off the production line on July 8, the U.S. plane maker's chief executive said in a newspaper interview published on Friday.
"We are working intensively to respect this timetable and are managing to respect the constraints we set ourselves, notably on the weight of the aircraft. We are confident we will get there," Boeing CEO James McNerney told France's Le Monde ahead of the Paris airshow next week.
Boeing has outsourced much 787 production and has been working since May to assemble the final pieces of the first aircraft in Everett, Washington.
McNerney said he saw no reason for Boeing to review this production model until output had reached "cruising speed" around 2009. "(Then) we can ask whether we need to change or not our organization," he said.
Boeing has stolen a lead with the Dreamliner against its main rival, Europe's Airbus, which as well as struggling to design a competing model — the A350XWB — has encountered delays in launching its A380 superjumbo.
McNerney said, however, he expected Airbus to emerge stronger from its current problems, as it restructures to cope with a strong euro.
"Airbus has its problems but we also had ours. I already see signs that their situation is improving," he was quoted as saying.
