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Boeing 777-9 Now Delayed until 2027

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The beleaguered Boeing 777-X program is experiencing another delay, per FAA administrator Bryan Bedford, who spoke at the CAPA Airline Leadership Summit. He indicated the he expects the 737 MAX 7, followed by the MAX 10 to be certified before year end, but that the 777-9

would likely slip to the first quarter of 2027.

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First production 777 X for Lufthansa image Boeing

This echoes remarks from Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg who indicated last week at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference.  He indicated that the overall timetable appears to have shifted to the right. Ortberg stated “You should expect that we will hopefully be done with our flight test program by the end of the year, with the exception of ETOPS.” He indicated that ETOPS would slip until next year.

Boeing is continuing to build the airplane and is getting ready to start deliveries in 2027. Ortberg indicated that customers would be reluctant to accept a non-ETOPS aircraft, and want the testing completed. That translates to yet another program delay for an aircraft originally scheduled for first deliveries in 2019. While short delays for new programs are typical, this seven year delay follows a five year delay on the 787 program and the MAX debacle leading to two fatal crashes and 346 deaths.  In the wake of the 787 and 737 safety groundings, going slow may be a good thing.

The beleaguered Boeing 777-X program is experiencing another delay, per FAA administrator Bryan Bedford, who spoke at the CAPA Airline Leadership Summit. He indicated the he expects the 737 MAX 7, followed by the MAX 10 to be certified before year end, but that the 777-9 would likely slip to the first quarter of 2027.