[AFreeBird]

Yea, it is. I guess coming up with all new production methods for an all composite aircraft isn’t as easy as it sounds. Not to mention dealing with designs issues that pop up with any new aircraft.

[NavyCanDo]

I think the biggest drag on the program was the body section supplier Alenia in Italy passing wrinkled skin to innaproprite fasteners. What a costly decision that was for Boeing. But Airbus is using many of these same suppliers and they have had issues of teir own.

[American Constitutionalist]

" Yea, it is. I guess coming up with all new production methods for an all composite aircraft isn’t as easy as it sounds. Not to mention dealing with designs issues that pop up with any new aircraft. "
Yes, that is true, and a good point, but ? there is no excuse in how Boeing mishandled the whole project, mainly management.
The problems they had was not because they were developing new technologies, the problem was with being short sighted in when they could bring this plane to service, and how to managed the production method.
Yes, the new composites needed a learning curve, but, Boeing dropped the ball on this project, they even had to take some resources from another project, the 747-8 and bring it over to the 787 to get it out the door, that's why the 747-8 project suffered.
They basically had to for a lack of better words " fired " one of their suppliers to do the job and built a whole new plant in South Carolina, and almost fired their Italian supplier partner because of spotty work, and sub-par quality on some of the fuselage parts.