All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, which took delivery of its second 787 Dreamliner two months ago, said Thursday that delivery of its third 787 is delayed because of production issues at Boeing, disrupting the carrier's planned introduction of international 787 routes.

"This is a new delay," said ANA spokeswoman Jean Saito.

Among the problems that have slowed Dreamliner production recently: A routine Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audit of the next three planes due for delivery found some wiring had been installed incorrectly.

Also, the auxiliary power units on three Dreamliners failed to start and had to be replaced, Boeing acknowledged.

In late October, Boeing reduced its 787 delivery forecast for the year to between five and seven jets.

But with the latest issues, an insider familiar with the details said Boeing may end up delivering as few as four and no more than six in total.

ANA had earlier expected to get the third Dreamliner in November and planned to use it on flights from Tokyo to Beijing this month, then switch the aircraft to a new long-distance route to Frankfurt, Germany, in January.

With the delay, the third Dreamliner will now fly to Beijing only three times, starting Jan. 14, before having to switch to the Frankfurt route as planned on Jan. 21.

Saito said Boeing still hasn't told ANA exactly when it will get the airplane. "We are told sometime this month," she said.

Boeing spokeswoman Jennifer Cram said, "We are working closely with our customer to minimize the impact and expect to deliver this airplane as quickly as possible."

Saito said the airline still expects 11 Dreamliners by the end of March, but after the latest delay has no firm schedule for the planes. "After the third airplane, we are still discussing with Boeing and adjusting, and trying to get a more concrete schedule," she said.

Because of the delays, ANA won't have enough 787s available to cover a planned Feb. 1 increase in frequency on the Frankfurt route, stepping up from the initial three flights a week to daily flights. Consequently, on some days ANA will operate a 777-200ER to Frankfurt, instead of the Dreamliner.

Boeing's Cram said the plane maker has "provided guidance" to its airline customers regarding specific airplane deliveries.

ANA's first Dreamliner was delivered in September, more than three years behind the original schedule. Boeing has had to offer airlines millions of dollars in compensation for the previous delays.

The latest delay to delivery of the third airplane was first reported from Tokyo on Thursday by Bloomberg News.

Cram acknowledged the wiring problem and the failure of the auxiliary power units (APUs) but said both "are well understood and are already being addressed by our team."

She called the wiring irregularities "minor."

"It is not widespread throughout the airplane. We are taking action to implement further improvements, including additional training for mechanics and inspectors," Cram said. "The issue has been closed."

And Cram said Boeing is working closely with Hamilton Sundstrand, supplier of the auxiliary power units, to analyze the "recent startup issue with three APUs."

"Fully functioning APUs are already installed on our near-term delivery airplanes, so this is not driving disruption into our delivery stream," she said.

The Boeing insider, who is familiar with the problem, said that out on the flight line where the planes are readied for delivery, there isn't enough electrical power to run all the necessary functional tests.

So power from the APU, located in the tail of the airplane, is used to run aircraft systems such as the cabin air compressors.

Without a working APU, such testing has to be postponed and the schedule slides.

Cram said neither the wiring nor the APU issues are "recurring problems."

"We continue to make good progress completing jobs and preparing 787s for delivery," Cram said. "We are seeing steady improvements across the production system."

ANA at least had one piece of good Boeing news to share. Airline spokeswoman Saito said the first two Dreamliners, operating on domestic routes in Japan, have had a smooth entry into service.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com