The Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits outside the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Washington, July 8, 2007 before its presentation to an audience of more than 15,000 waiting inside.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft will make its first flight between mid-November and mid-December, almost two months later than originally planned, due to technical issues, senior company officials said Wednesday.

    The delay of the test flight for the company's newest passenger plane, which was rolled out at a fanfare ceremony in July, was announced in a conference call by Scott Carson, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Mike Bair, 787 program vice president and general manager.

    Bair said the issues behind the delay include airframe partners' failure to deliver their supplies on schedule, and the longer-than-anticipated time needed for the integration of the plane's flight control system software.

    However, Boeing officials said the current flight test plan still supports the planned first delivery to All Nippon Airways of Japan in May 2008, and they assured the stock market that the newly announced delay would have no impact on the company's financial performance.

    Carson told stock analysts that the company has logged 258 sales of its new plane this year, bringing the total to 706 total orders from 48 airlines.

    Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said last month that the 787's first flight would occur at the end of September, or a few days into October.