Boeing 777X Bad News

Bad but expected news for the 777X: Boeing reports a $4.9 billion charge due to program delays.

Revealed in the planemaker’s Q3 2025 earnings, the major charge, previously cited by CEO Kelly Ortbeg, follows the planemaker’s continued struggles to secure aircraft approval for entry into service.

The delays were only worsened by comments from Ortbeg in recent months, in which he indicated that the business was firmly behind schedule in obtaining approval for the 777X.

Additionally, the CEO stated that there was a mountain of work still left in the process to certify the jet. While nothing abnormal has been found since, this shows the still strenuous process of getting the plane the formal all-clear.

With Boeing long hoping to launch the 777X next year, that window has become increasingly unlikely as pressure continues to mount on the business and on this eagerly awaited flagship product.

For the business, a $4.9 billion charge adds to the $10 billion in charges the planemaker has reported thus far for the 777X jet, and the latest costs stem directly from struggles with airline customers and related penalties.

Airlines Hurt From 777X Delays

Late deliveries can have a widespread impact and ultimately affect not only Boeing but also airline customers who, in this case, have purchased the long-haul jet to elevate their widebody flying.

For most businesses, the punt taken to commit to the series was that the aircraft would replace older aircraft and/or fuel growth across the network in a much more efficient manner than previous generations of aircraft.

As a result, airlines will plan delivery windows for their new planes to align with fleet replacement efforts, prospective new route launches and more. This all ties in with future forecasting metrics, finances and more.

However, Boeing has missed these timelines time and time again, forcing airlines to scramble, including Emirates, one of the jet’s biggest backers, which has also been frustrated by the unfolding situation.

Emirates’ 777X jets are now half a decade delayed, and as a result, existing aircraft have been retained longer than expected, going against the airline’s long-standing and successful business model.

Additionally, the airline has dove headfirst into a multi-billion-dollar retrofit of its existing aircraft, the 777 and A380, to mitigate some of the 777X delays by bringing older aircraft up to the standards of the new inbound plane.

Latest On The Boeing 777X

When Boeing launched the 777X program in 2013, it outlined a seven-year turnaround to bring the jet to production, certification, and scheduled passenger service.

With this in mind, Boeing wanted the aircraft delivered to customers commencing in 2020; however, given how the latter stages of the 2010s played out, and especially the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, this quickly became a far-fetched dream.

From this point forward, Boeing has grappled with delay after delay. While it has on several occasions outlined delivery timelines for the first unit, it has consistently missed these deadlines, leaving its airline customers even more frustrated by failed promises after failed promises.

More recently, Boeing had hoped to deliver the first 777X in 2025; however, by late 2024, this was clearly not possible given the program’s struggles, and the delivery was pushed back until 2026 at the earliest.

Now, Boeing is once more in the same predicament it found itself in 12 months ago, with another delivery deadline not being met, and 2026 is not possible either.

As a result, the first delivery of the Boeing 777X is now not expected until 2027 at the earliest. Airlines would argue there’s every chance this is pushed back to 2028 or, at the very least, that it’ll be 2028 when they finally start operating scheduled passenger flights, thus representing an eight-year delay.