One of aviation’s most important stories is that of the 777X certification. But, unfortunately, Boeing’s newest aircraft has yet to enter customer service and has been delayed five years.
The 777X was initially slated to enter service in 2020. However, the pandemic, engine difficulties and Boeing’s 737 MAX crisis, amongst quality assurance troubles with the 787, all contributed to delays.
These delays have only continued with Boeing posting a revised entry into service time of 2025. However, their customers, notably Emirates and Lufthansa, are not clear on the entry into service date and have shed their doubts surrounding whether Boeing will meet this.
The American aircraft manufacturer, however, has been given a boost with Aviation Week interviewing the executive director of the EASA.
The EASA acts as the European aviation safety agency and is one of the essential governing bodies closely inspecting the aircraft to fly in its respective region eventually.
In that very piece, several roadblocks that had been impacting the certification program had seen solutions found. It means that, mainly for the first time, Boeing has a pathway that’ll lead them towards certification. Of course, this won’t be a simple overnight process, and it’ll still be many years before the 777X flies with passengers. Still, it’s certainly a critical moment for the program and manufacturer as they resolve disagreements over the plane.
Aircraft certification has drastically changed since the 737 MAX incidents in 2018 and 2019, respectively. How aircraft manufacturers and, therefore, regulators approach the overall certification program is done with more scurrility, which has meant that new programs such as the 777X have incurred hefty delays. So while yes, related to the aircraft themselves, the fine microscope you could argue may not have been as fine some five years ago now.
