"We're having what we would consider the normal number of squawks on a new airplane, consistent with other new airplanes we've introduced," Boeing Co (BA.N) CEO Jim McNerney said in an interview on cable network CNBC.

"We regret the impact on our customers, obviously," he added. "But ... we're working through it."

On Thursday, Qatar Airways said it had been forced to ground one of its three Boeing 787 Dreamliners after it found the same electrical generator problem that recently forced a Dreamliner operated by United Continental Holdings Inc's (UAL.N) United Airlines to make an emergency landing.

McNerney also said many major companies would say their employment and investment decisions are being affected by the "fiscal cliff."

"Eventually ours will, too," he said. "But we're in a longer-cycle environment."

McNerney said he hoped that solving the fiscal cliff would not impede longer-term tax reform. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency