Boeing Co. said Monday that it has begun incorporating required changes to its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner to move the program toward certification this year by aviation authorities.
The work, to be done in San Antonio, includes installing electronic and mechanical equipment, software upgrades and testing systems.
A Boeing spokesman said the “change incorporation” step is required for all new airplanes. He said the company expects the plane to be certified this year.
Boeing said it will hire 450 temporary employees to join its staff of 1,700 workers in San Antonio.
Boeing, the No. 2 commercial plane-maker after Airbus , is nearly three years behind schedule for the lightweight, carbon-composite Dreamliner. The company expects first delivery in the third quarter of this year.
Boeing has taken 843 orders for the Dreamliner, according to its Web site. That is a record for a Boeing plane still in development.
Shares of Boeing were down 2.5 percent, at $70.03, on the New York Stock Exchange in early afternoon.
