Dow Jones Newswires | Continental Airlines Inc. said Thursday that it expected to receive the first six 787-8 aircraft from Boeing Co. in the second half of next year.

The disclosure in a regulatory filing could see Continental become the U.S. launch customer for the delayed aircraft. Delta Air Lines Inc., which inherited a 787 order through its takeover of Northwest Airlines, remains in talks with Boeing about its deal.

Continental was the first U.S. carrier to order the 787, and its 2004 contract envisaged first deliveries in 2009. However, design and production delays left the 787 program some three years behind schedule.

Launch customer All Nippon Airways Inc. expects its first 787 in the fourth quarter of this year. Continental said the expected deliveries are based on the schedule from Boeing, which is testing the new aircraft as part of the certification process.

Houston-based Continental has not disclosed where it plans to use the long-range twin-aisle 787. It has 25 of the planes on order. Two 787-8s are due to arrive in the third quarter of next year, with another two in the following quarter. Its order includes the larger 787-9 model.

The airline also disclosed that its domestic booking factor for the next six weeks is flat to down one percentage point, with transatlantic two to three points lower. Latin American and Pacific booking factors are both higher than the same period last year.