Daily Insight: Thursday 6 June 2019: Boeing faces new delays

News

Reports this morning indicate that Boeing is facing a new delay, this time with the GE-9X engines for the 777-9 and 777-8 models.  The engine anomaly results from a mechanical issue near the 11-stage high pressure compressor.  A redesign of a component to improve durability is under way at GE, who discovered the issue during an engine test run.  There have been previous issues related to the high pressure compressor, including durability problems with variable stator vanes lever arms in February 2018.

This is the second delay for the 777-9, which was expected to have its first flight earlier in the year.  It now appears that the current schedule of June 26th will also not be met.  The degree to which this will delay the entry into service of the 777-9 is yet unknown, but the aircraft is now not expected to be delivered until Q4 2020 or more likely early 2021. Boeing’s CFO also indicated that Boeing is reconsidering the slow-selling 777-8 model and potentially further delaying this model to focus on the better selling 777-9.