Boeing 787 test flight by year end? Not bloody likely

With Monday afternoon's news that Scott Carson has been replaced as head of its division that makes the aicraft, why should you care whether Boeing (BA) can test its 787 Dreamliner? If you're a Boeing investor, your net worth could take a nasty hit if the 787 can't make it to cruising altitude: the 787 accounts for a $154 billion backlog, almost half of Boeing's total. And if you fly, you'll want to be sure all the creature comforts I described in You Can't Order Change don't come with the risk of falling out of the sky.

That's why the latest information I received from a source who spent two years consulting to Boeing is important. This source contacted an insider at Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services unit who confirms that Boeing is flying six test aircraft, three of which have no commercial value, since nobody would buy them -- which resulted in last week's $2.5 billion charge.