Etihad Airways 777X News

In a world of Boeing 777X frustration, Etihad Airways remains the outlier, with a different negative outlook.

Boeing’s upcoming flagship product, the 777X, was meant to enter service at the top of the decade; now it remains in a state of uncertainty, as certification progress has been delayed and is an uphill climb.

As a result, many airlines are experiencing substantial delays in acquiring aircraft, impacting operations from route expansion to retirements.

Etihad Airways, however, says it expects to receive its first Boeing 777X in 2031 as part of its network growth plans, and as a result, it remains one of the few airlines relatively calm about the delays.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier falls into a category of problems that do not affect it, so it remains unaffected and largely unfazed by Boeing’s persistent delays in securing approval for the jet.

The airline’s Chief Executive spoke with The National over the past week, expressing a continued optimistic view not just about the 777X program but also aircraft deliveries, with the situation, for him, only improving.

Etihad Airways only confirmed weeks ago that its most recent 12 months have been one of the busiest in terms of aircraft deliveries, so, while delays have been felt across the industry, the carrier has been relatively lucky that it has still been able to add capacity, as it has said itself it remains one of the fastest growing in the world.

Despite this, the Etihad CEO is well aware of the industry’s struggles with shortages of new planes as planemakers continue to navigate supply chain complexities.

Luckily, Etihad Airways is well-positioned to navigate these struggles without compromising the opportunity to grow moving forward, as the business positions itself to avoid being forced to wait for uncertified aircraft types.

Boeing 777X Latest

Unfortunately, with a mountain to climb in the certification process for the Boeing 777X, the planemaker once more confirmed a delay to the program in recent weeks.

The 777X will now be delivered in 2027, representing another pushback on the launch timeframe and a seven-year delay from initial expectations.

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.

Unfortunately, Boeing now finds itself in the same position it was 12 months ago, realising the hurdle is too large and that it must readjust expectations, which now involves a hopeful 2027 launch timeframe.

Additionally, during the planemaker’s earnings, a $4.9 billion charge was reported due to delays on the widebody jet, primarily driven by penalties paid to airlines eagerly awaiting the jets.

The latest charge is not the first and adds to the $10 billion in charges reported by the planemaker for the widebody aircraft, as the program’s struggles continue.

Etihad Airways’ Recent Growth

Talk of Etihad Airways’ 777X expectations and relatively unfazed nature follows further records being broken by the Abu Dhabi-based carrier.

Confirmation arrived that the business had reached a landmark milestone: 300 scheduled passenger flights now take place every single day. This is a 20% increase from last year and highlights the growth that has been possible.

This figure is supported by September 2025 results, in which Etihad Airways also carried 1.9 million passengers, representing another substantial 21% year-over-year increase, while maintaining load factors at 89%.

In the first nine months, 16.1 million passengers were carried, an 18% increase, which for Etihad Airways validates the work they’ve been doing through new route launches, which show these have been the right moves.

2026 is forecast to be another busy year, with many route announcements set to commence next year and the likelihood of further developments across the network as more jets arrive.