Boeing has been developing a new widebody aircraft, the 777-X, a bigger version of its bestseller, the Boeing 777. The project was announced in November 2013, and at the time, the planned entry into service was going to be in 2020. However, the OEM has seen delays in the project (no big deal, happens all the time with OEMs), but at the last check-in, the delay was as much as five years. And now, Boeing has officially pushed back the entry into service by one more year.

What is the Boeing 777X?

As mentioned earlier, the Boeing 777X is Boeing’s new, upgraded version of the Boeing 777. Boeing plans two variants of the 777X, the 777-8 and the 777-9, with the 777-9 coming in before the 777-8. With the A380 and the 747 on their way out of the commercial aviation market and no longer available to be purchased, the 777X will be the new big jet we will see that will be manufactured in the coming years.

The programme has its backers. Emirates has over 200 777X jets on order; overall, over 500 aircraft are on order. The customer list includes the who’s who of aviation, with British Airways, Qatar Airways, Air India, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and Cathay Pacific being some other carriers awaiting the jet. Each carrier will make it their flagship aircraft when it enters service.

Emirates intends to use the 777X to replace the A380 aircraft and is in a hurry to get them as soon as possible. In interactions with Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, he expressed his displeasure at the continued delays that the programme has witnessed. Emirates has had to invest billions of dollars in retrofitting its existing jets to keep them flying in the future.

Boeing 777X delayed until 2026

The 777X project, when announced in November 2013, mentioned a planned entry into service in 2020. But plans constantly change, and Boeing only started the flight tests in January 2020 for the 777X programme. Between the pandemic, Boeing’s financial pressures due to the grounding of the MAX and their inability to deliver the (737 MAX) aircraft for an extended period and the various issues discovered with the 777X during development and testing, the programme has seen delays. However, the OEM insisted that the entry in service would be in 2025 now.

However, the OEM has seen delays in the project (no big deal, happens all the time with OEMs), but at the last check-in, the delay was as much as five years. And now, Boeing has officially pushed back the entry into service by one more year.

Within 2024, Boeing has seen issues being discovered with the jet and within the company, which have kept the delivery date a moving target.  This year, Boeing saw the door plug on a 737 MAX blow out in January on an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX, which eventually put a focus on Boeing’s struggle with the quality of the aircraft delivered and led to new leadership at the OEM. When the Boeing 777X finally went into the state where certification flights were started for the aircraft, an issue with the thrust links was discovered. There is also the industrial action that Boeing is dealing with at the moment, with the machinists in the Puget Sound (Washington State) area being on strike because the OEM and the machinists cannot arrive at a deal for the machinists pay in the future.

How does the delay impact customers?

It suffices to say that most airlines are currently planning a new passenger experience for their 777X jets. These include Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and so on. In many cases, airlines have had to move on with their plans and start retrofitting their new products on existing jets instead to keep up with the hyper-competitive world of premium travel.

Bottomline

The Boeing 777X is the OEM’s new flagship wide-body aircraft. The plane was supposed to enter service in 2020. However, that timeline has been pushed by several years. Boeing has now “officially” moved the timeline to 2026. This represents yet another delay, as so far, the goal was to get entry into service done in 2025.

What do you think about the delays to the Boeing 777X EIS, and when will the aircraft actually enter service?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.