The 777X is Boeing’s new flagship aircraft. While the jet was initially supposed to enter commercial service in 2020, that timeline has been pushed back considerably. In recent times, it seemed like Boeing had actually made some good progress on certification, with the plan being for a mid-2026 entry into service for the plane.
Unfortunately that’s no longer in the cards, and at this point the plane’s entry into service has been pushed back into 2027, as reported by Bloomberg. We had some hints that this was coming a few weeks back, but it’s now closer to being official.
The basics of the hugely delayed Boeing 777X project
For those not familiar, the 777X is Boeing’s newest version of the 777. The project was launched 12 years ago, in 2013, and so far not a single plane is in commercial service. The 777X will come in two variants — the 777-8 and 777-9 — and the planes are more fuel efficient, longer range, and larger than existing 777s (and larger than 787s, which are also popular).
With there clearly not being a market anymore for planes like the A380 and 747-8, this will likely be the biggest new aircraft we see manufactured in the next decade.
There are currently around 565 orders for the 777X, so the plane is popular, though not as popular as the A350 or 787, which are lower capacity while still being long range and fuel efficient. Emirates is the single biggest customer for the 777X, as the airline has 205 of these jets on order, and is using these to replace Airbus A380s, as those jets retire.
However, airlines like All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines, are also counting on this jet for fleet renewal, all with plans to make this their flagship aircraft.
The Boeing 777X will enter service no earlier than 2027
The Boeing 777X was initially supposed to enter service in 2020, but that timeline has slipped back considerably over the years. In 2024, the plan was for the plane to enter service in 2025. For most of 2025, the plan has been for the plane to enter service in 2026.
Now the latest update is that the plane has been delayed until 2027. Lufthansa is the launch customer for the 777X, and no longer expects it’ll receive its first jet next year. Several weeks ago, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors that “the mountain of work is still there” for 777X certification, and “we are falling behind on the certification,” clearly hinting at this delay.
The 777X program has already accumulated more than $11 billion in overruns, and this latest delay could cost Boeing as much as an extra $4 billion.
The good news is that Boeing is making material progress with test flights, and it seems that things are actually moving in the right direction, rather than being fully stalled. That being said, getting a new plane certified is no small task.
Going back several years, the Boeing 777X was supposed to complete its first test flight in mid-2019, but that ended up being pushed back to early 2020. This delay was due to issues with the GE9X General Electric engines on the plane. These are the largest engines ever on a commercial plane, though they were having durability problems, causing a delay in certification.
That wasn’t the only issue, though — during the 777X certification process, a door also blew off during a stress test. But that was only the start of the issues. Then Boeing had its first round of issues with the 737 MAX, when two of the jets had fatal crashes. That doesn’t even account for Boeing’s production quality issues in 2024, which caused new senior leadership to be appointed. And then in late 2024, Boeing workers went on strike.
It certainly seems that with every passing year, the 777X just gets pushed back by another year. However, I do believe that things are at least moving in the right direction, in the sense that progress doesn’t seem to be fully stalled. But still, have you just keep delaying a new plane by a year every year?!?
Why the 777X delay matters for airlines & passengers
It’s pretty obvious why airlines care about the Boeing 777X delivery delays. Delivery delays with the 777X have greatly messed up fleet planning at many airlines — airlines order planes with specific strategies in mind, and a delay of this many years sure messes things up.
Beyond that, though, passengers should care about these delays as well. Several airlines intend to use the Boeing 777X as their new flagship aircraft, and will introduce new cabins on these planes. In some cases they’ve even had to change their plans. For example:
Bottom line
The 777X is Boeing’s new flagship wide body aircraft. While the plane was supposed to enter service in 2020, that timeline has been pushed back by several years. Until recently, the plan was for the plane to enter service around the middle of 2026, but now that timeline has been pushed back to early 2027.
It’s just incredible to think that design on an updated version of an existing jet started in 2013, and best case scenario, will enter service 14 years later. One wonders if updating existing aircraft just ends up being more complicated, or how long it would take for a fully new designed plane to enter service.
How incredibly frustrating. I’m really excited to finally fly this new plane, but it’s so unfortunate that with every year that passes, the plane is seemingly one additional year from entering service.
When do you think the Boeing 777X will actually enter service?
