“I’d be really surprised” if that type of the 787 got built, James Albaugh, Boeing’s head of the commercial division, said in an interview in Berlin yesterday. The executive spoke before the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association, which begins today.

The 787-3 was designed to carry as many as 330 passengers as far as 3,050 nautical miles, compared with as many as 250 passengers and as far as 8,200 nautical miles for the 787-8, according to Boeing. The Chicago-based manufacturer put the future of model under review in January after All Nippon Airways Co. changed its order for the 787-3 for another variant.

The Dreamliner program has been plagued by delays as the manufacturer works on new technologies including advanced composite materials. Initially meant to fly in August 2007 and reach customers in May 2008, the plane was delayed five times. All Nippon was the first airline to order the Dreamliner, with an initial order in 2004 for 30 short-range and 20 long-haul versions. The company is awaiting its first 787 this year.

Boeing’s main competitor, Airbus SAS, is working on the program for the A350 jet that the Toulouse, France-based company aims to start delivery in 2013. Maintaining that target will be “tense,” Louis Gallois, the chief executive officer of Airbus parent European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co., said last week.

Source: Bloomberg