Dec. 28--A sleek new aircraft nicknamed Dreamliner for its state-of-the-art features and technology was supposed to take off regularly from Detroit Metro Airport this spring, whisking passengers to Shanghai in style.

That flight plan's been diverted, however. Production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft has been delayed repeatedly and deliveries won't lift off before 2010. Delta's direct route from Detroit to Shanghai also has been postponed because of economic concerns and won't begin until June.

Delta didn't have any orders for the Dreamliners, which promise exceptional fuel efficiency. Northwest Airlines, Delta's newly merged partner, had 18 of the planes on order. But Delta's been quiet about the future of those orders, and officials say their plans can move forward without the Dreamliner.

Northwest had said Detroit passengers would be the first to fly on the aircraft, but it's now unclear whether that will happen.

"We think the 787 is a fine aircraft, provided the performance features as advertised are filled -- and they've got a ways to go ... I'd really be reluctant to make any comment as far as our future on that aircraft until we know what we're dealing with," said Ed Bastian, Delta president and CEO of Northwest. Delta and its subsidiary Northwest is the largest carrier at Detroit Metro.

"We're not growing internationally at this moment ... We've got the aircraft between the 747s, the Airbus 330s. We already have at Delta the aircraft with far greater range than the 787 has, with the triple 7 long-range aircraft LR, which we're the launch customer in North America on.

"That will fly almost any mission in the world. It's the longest-range aircraft with about 280 seats on board. So we've got the aircraft to meet the needs."