Boeing 777X Takes Next Step To Certification

Certification of the Boeing 777X is progressing in the right direction after years of delays and troubles.

Jon Ostrower, responsible for the success of the reputable trade publication The Air Current, stated that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had given Boeing the go-ahead to proceed with the next phase of certification.

Ostrower reported that the next phase focuses on system demonstrations, driven by information from two individuals familiar with the matter at hand.

The development represents another step in the right direction for the planemaker, which has struggled to obtain the necessary approval for its 777X program repeatedly due to several issues.

This represents additionally the fourth of five stages in the overall certification program for the 777X, a process for flight certification that commenced just over a year ago.

As a result, the new long-haul jet has been delayed multiple times and now sits five years after its intended entry into service, still without the necessary certification for delivery and the commencement of scheduled passenger flights with airlines.

Boeing 777X Delays

When Boeing launched the 777X, it expected the aircraft to receive the necessary certification in 2020; however, this did not eventuate.

With a global pandemic, GE9X engine issues stopping certification and several other internal concerns within the planemaker, progress on the 777X’s approval was stagnated for quite some time.

Boeing, after this, continued to push back the certification estimates of the 777X, too many times to count. As a result, for a period, it did not publicly state when approval was to be expected, as dictated by airlines that chose to speak publicly.

Most recently, the planemaker was forced to publicly delay the 777X’s launch from 2025 to 2026 after internal realisations that progress was not moving in the right direction to achieve the timeframes laid out.

The delay frustrated airline customers, who also had to push back the retirement of existing aircraft and were left with yet another missed timeline, with some doubting whether 2026 would be achieved.

Emirates forecasts the first delivery of the 777X sometime in 2027 and hasn’t been afraid to say a 2028 delivery timeframe could even be more likely, this eight years after initial estimates were put forward.

Cathay Pacific and ANA, two other international airlines and soon-to-be operators of the 777X, have adjusted their expectations to align with the latest reporting on the program from the planemaker.

What’s Been Happening With The 777X?

Much of the delay to the Boeing 777X has been driven by a heightened certification program, with onlookers arguing that it is unlike any other and represents a new era of approval.

The 777X’s birth came at a time when two Boeing jets crashed, investigations revealing that corners were cut in the design, certification, and ultimately, day-to-day production processes, with financial gain prioritised over safety.

As a result, the way regulators, especially the FAA, look to certify new aircraft has changed; the stringent requirements mean that the approval process is no longer what it once was.

However, for Boeing, the oversight and enhanced focus on their new jet have not been the only reasons; numerous other issues with the program have been identified since the first flight, and even before that, with the GE9X engines, which halted the process.

Issues arising with new aircraft before their debut are common; they’d be encouraged to occur now rather than when the plane is in service. However, the problems have often suspended progress for more extended periods than what would be deemed ideal.

Boeing has also been attempting to certify the jet during the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged through supply chains, resulting in staff layoffs, a significantly worse financial position for the company, and more.

Simply put, Boeing has not been in a stable position, and as a result, this lack of stability has now reflected across all commercial aircraft programs, including the 777X, which have not been operating at the levels internally and externally that would be expected.