Qantas cancels Boeing Dreamliner order

Australian airline Qantas has cancelled an order for 15 of Boeing's Dreamliner 787 aircraft, it announced today.  Qantas ordered the Dreamliners in December 2005. Already two years behind schedule, Chicago-based Boeing announced earlier this week that it was delaying the aircraftÔÇÖs launch for the fifth time. Qantas said in a statement that the cancellation was ÔÇ£appropriate in the current climateÔÇØ and had ÔÇ£not been influenced by the announcement this week of a design issue and further delay to the aircraft's first flight.ÔÇØ As well as cancelling the Dreamliner order, Qantas deferred for four years an order for another 15 of the same aircraft, saying that the decision would save it $3 billion in capital spending. There is now speculation among industry analysts that QantasÔÇÖ decision may pave the way for further cancellations by other Boeing customers.  The Dreamliner is Boeing's first completely new aircraft since 1995 and is also the first commercial jet made mostly of carbon-fiber composites instead of aluminum. Commenting on the cancelled order, Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas, said: "Qantas announced its original B787 order in December 2005, and the operating environment for the world's airlines has clearly changed dramatically since then. "The agreement we have reached with Boeing will provide greater certainty going forward in terms of our fleet renewal and growth strategies as well as broader resource planning and matching capacity with demand. "It will also allow Qantas to manage capital investment more effectively while still delivering an aircraft that offers sound prospects for our flying businesses and our customers.ÔÇØ Qantas said that it would still remain jointly the biggest airline customer for the Dreamliner, despite the changes to the orders. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *