Boeing Co. might boost production of its new 787 to 10 per month from seven "in the next few weeks," according to the general manager of the Italian company that is providing fuselages for the Dreamliner.
"I believe it will make this decision in the next few weeks, and we have already started with the preproject phase of our investment," Giorgio Zappa of Finmeccanica SpA said in an interview Monday in Italy.
Finmeccanica, Italy's largest aerospace and defense company, has agreed to provide seven fuselages a month for the 787 and might increase its production because of the success of the plane.
Chicago-based Boeing will begin test flights of the 787 around the end of September and is on schedule to deliver the first airliner in May. The company is working with suppliers to determine how many 787s can be built to meet demand.
"We are currently undergoing a production-rate study to determine if we are able to increase rates starting in 2011, but ... we don't have a specific date or timeline for when this decision will be made," Boeing spokesman Adam Morgan said.
Also Monday, China Southern Airlines Co. said it plans to buy 55 Boeing 737 jets. At catalog prices, the deal would be worth somewhere between about $3.1 billion and $4.3 billion.
