EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- The head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division says it could eventually increase the production rate of its new 787 jetliner beyond the previously announced 10 per month it plans to build by the end of 2013.
President Jim Albaugh tells The Daily Herald of Everett that Boeing will have the capacity to assemble 15 planes a month once all 787 production lines at Everett and in South Carolina are operating. He spoke Wednesday at a ceremony to show off the 1,000th Boeing 767 built.
Albaugh says producing 15 a month would require additional investments in the 787's supply chain, but there is demand for more than 10 jets a month. Boeing hopes to deliver the first 787 to a customer later this year, more than three years late.