Boeing 787 flight tests to complete this weekend.

787 in high speed landing & taxi tests

Boeing Co is looking to finish flight tests for its much-awaited 787 Dreamliner this weekend, the company's chief of commercial airplanes said on Thursday.

The 787 is still set for delivery to All Nippon Airways in September and will see a production rate increase later this year, Jim Albaugh said at an industry conference.

Boeing, the world's second-largest plane maker after Airbus EADS, is about three years behind schedule in delivering the first 787, largely because of snags in the unusually complex global supply chain.

Albaugh also said the company plans to go to its board of directors later this month for approval of its plan to make a version of its best-selling 737 narrow-body plane with a new, fuel-efficient engine.

The "re-engine" program is already seeing strong demand, Albaugh said.

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