Boeingin (NYSE: BA) The 777X, already delayed until 2022, may not arrive until 2023 or even later, depending on the plane’s most important customer.
In an interview today with Reuters, Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said his airline is not assuming that the plane will arrive in 2022 as predicted. Emirates accounts for about a third of the 777X’s order book, but the airline said earlier that it could consider swapping some of its orders for different planes, depending on market conditions and how long it will take for the 777X to arrive.
Boeing 777 assembly line. Image source: Boeing.
The 777X is an upgrade to Boeing’s long-distance workhorse and will be the first new aircraft the company has attempted to achieve certification since the 737 MAX. The MAX launch did not go as planned, with the plane stopped for 20 months after a couple of fatal accidents, and Clark hopes that a heavy regulatory review will be applied this time around.
He told Reuters that the 777X certification could happen in 2022, or “it could be 23, it could be even more”, saying that Emirates “will just wait and see what Boeing will do about it, and we will have an insight into how they fit into the fleet at that specific time. “
Boeing originally expected to have the 777X ready now, but a combination of lukewarm demand and failed tests has delayed the schedule. The plane first flew last year, but even before the pandemic, Boeing seemed unlikely to start deliveries until at least 2021.
The 737 MAX, which makes up the bulk of Boeing’s order book, has been released to resume service. The company is likely to rely heavily on sales and deliveries of 737 in the coming years, as airlines plan for slow recoveries and lessen the emphasis on larger jets like the 777 and 787 Dreamliner.