Our tests continue to confirm that the composite construction of the 787, including the wing, is sound. The 787, like every commercial jetliner, is going through a rigorous series of tests to verify the safety and certificability of its structure, systems and operations. The FAA will review the results of this compliance activity prior to certifying the airplane for commercial use.

The BTV system shows pilots two lines on the electronic airport diagram on the A380's navigation display. The first line shows the minimum stopping distance for dry pavement (assuming no reverse thrust). The second line shows the minimum stopping distance for a wet runway. Pilots can then select their desired turn-off point on the display using a cursor, and the system internally computes the required auto-braking deceleration profile. Contaminated runway scenarios will be addressed in later versions of the programme, says Tarnowski.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the first of the largely composite jets isn't likely to be delivered before mid-2010, more than two years behind schedule.

But a source close to the program said the jet's launch could occur even later, especially if flight-testing for the all-new aircraft takes longer than the aggressive schedule that Chicago-based Boeing has planned.

The pilots say that the lack of engine noise in the A380's cabin compared with other long-haul airliners means they are constantly disturbed by sounds created by passengers, such as crying babies, flushing vacuum toilets and call bells. Passengers also mistake the rest area for a lavatory, and pull the door handle.

Boeing shifted the delivery date for the 747-8 Freighter to Cargolux from late 2009 to the third quarter of 2010. First delivery of the 747-8 Intercontinental, a passenger variant struggling to attract orders, dropped from late 2010 to the second quarter of 2011.

The flight-test phase is now allotted between seven and nine months to complete, Teal says. By comparison, Boeing completed the flight-test programme for the 777-200LR, a perhaps less ambitious derivative programme, in about 10 months in 2005.

Those nonconforming nutplates that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago are on all Boeing jets, not just the 737. But there are far fewer on the 747, 777 and 767 than are on the 737. Still, Boeing said Tuesday that they must all be found and replaced before any more planes are delivered.

The Seattle Times, citing sources familiar with the situation, reports that 2000 fasteners will need to be replaced on the aft fuselage and 3000 for the forward fuselage produced by Spirit Aerosystems.

Dreamliners One through Four have had their engine pylons removed and returned to Spirit AeroSystems for fastener repairs. As a result, the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines from Dreamliner One have been removed and positioned behind the aircraft.

"PARIS -- Airbus benefited from the recent strike by workers at The Boeing Co. as it gave stretched suppliers more time to focus on orders from the European jet maker, the company said Friday."

According to Boeing, 737s delivered to customers since August 2007 contained non-conforming nutplates. Boeing's delivery website says that 394 737s were delivered between August 2007 and October 2008.

An estimated 3 percent of the fasteners on four flight-test planes at the Everett plant, plus two others that have been assembled for ground testing, were installed incorrectly and will have to be removed and replaced.

Engineers have traced it to improper instructions on what type and length of fasteners to use on certain titanium parts. The fasteners, located throughout the airplane, were installed mostly by suppliers at the plants where the major sections of the jet are being built, and affect all fuselage sections built so far

On board the delivery flight, Captain Peter Probert, whose father brought the first Boeing 747 into Australia in 1971, told passengers that the flight had been a career highlight

According to several sources inside the 787 program and others familiar with the schedule, assembly completion of Dreamliner One is now tentatively targeted for early October, a slip of about five weeks.

Assembly completion was initially set for August 31, just four days prior to the expiration of the IAM's three-year contract.