In a statement posted on its website on Thursday, the Japanese carrier blamed a "productivity reason" at Boeing for the delay. The airline said it would delay Dreamliner service between Tokyo and Beijing and between Tokyo and Frankfurt.

The Beijing route was scheduled to start in December, but has been rescheduled for January.

"ANA regrets to take the precaution of amending international flight plans. ANA will continue urgent negotiations with Boeing to deliver the 787 as early and as close to the original schedule as possible," the company said.

Boeing, through a spokeswoman, said it was working with ANA to deliver the airplane as quickly as possible but would not comment on the cause of the delay.

The 787 Dreamliner is a light-weight, carbon-composite airplane that is fuel efficient. The airplane was three years behind its development schedule but finally entered service this year.

Boeing aims to ramp up monthly production on the airplane to 10 by the end of 2013 from the current pace of 2.5. Some experts believe the target rate is too ambitious.

Boeing has more than 800 orders for the airplane on its books.

The latest Dreamliner snag contrasts news from Boeing's top rival Airbus (EAD.PA), which said on Friday it topped its 2011 target for superjumbo deliveries when it handed over two A380s in rapid succession, reaching 26 deliveries for the year.

Shares of Boeing were up 51 cents at $71.12 on the New York Stock Exchange at mid-afternoon.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson; Editing by Richard Chang)

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