Boeing's most important plane keeps dragging it down
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- Boeing revealed a $5 billion charge for its 777X, which was supposed to be its comeback jet.
- The new widebody was initially set to debut in 2020, but is delayed until at least 2027.
- With about 600 orders from global airlines, much is riding on Boeing's most important plane.
Once billed as Boeing's comeback jet after the Max crisis, the 777X — the world's largest passenger plane in production — is now seven years late and costing the company billions.
In its third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Boeing posted a $4.9 billion charge related to delays in certifying its 777X widebody, leaving the planemaker roughly $5 billion in the red for the quarter.
Third Bridge analyst Peter McNally said in a note that the report was "staggering," but the 777X cost was not unexpected. He added that Boeing's 160 deliveries — its most since before the Max crashes — and a return to positive free cash flow show operations have "clearly stabilized, putting the company in a vastly improved financial position."
Boeing also reported third-quarter revenue above expectations and secured regulator approval to raise 737 Max production from 38 to 42 aircraft a month, McNally said.
Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau similarly said the 777X charge is not a surprise, but added the issues are believed to be due to the "timing to complete the work, and not related to the performance of the aircraft." He said there could be short-term tariff-related volatility, but expects overall operating improvements from Boeing.
Boeing's stock fell about 4% on Wednesday morning, but it is up about 25% year-to-date.
A lot is riding on the planemaker's 777X. Boeing needs to prove its modified design was the right strategy over building a jet from scratch.
But every new delay or costly expense erodes customer, passenger, and investor trust, forces airlines to absorb the extra costs of operating older planes, and hands Airbus another edge in long-haul market share.
The 777X is delayed at least 7 years
In October, Bloomberg reported that the revolutionary jetliner, featuring folding wingtips and increased fuel economy compared to competitors, is now targeting a 2027 entry to service.
That's seven years later than its original 2020 timeline.
The outlet said German flag carrier and launch customer Lufthansa was removing the 777X from its 2026 fleet plan to account for the new delay, citing sources familiar with the program. More than a dozen airlines have placed about 600 orders for the twin-engine 777X.
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Boeing told Business Insider at the time that it is unable to comment due to its pre-earnings quiet period. Lufthansa referred BI to the manufacturer.
The report comes after Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a September Morgan Stanley conference that certification issues were pushing the 777X further behind schedule, but he did not give exact timing.
"Even a minor schedule delay on the 777 program has a pretty big financial impact," he said.
Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia told Business Insider in October that the "good news" is that this delay does not appear to be due to another technical issue, which contributed to Boeing's 2024 decision to delay the plane to 2026.
"A lot of it seems to be due to factors that aren't in their control; FAA bandwidth worsened by a government shutdown," he said. The shutdown is now the second-longest in history.
The setback is still another blow to a company still recovering from the 737 Max crisis and raises further questions about Boeing's ability to engineer and certify new planes.
Boeing needs to prove it can safely update an old aircraft
Unlike Airbus' A350, Boeing based the 777X on its classic 777-300ER but modified it to be larger and more efficient. The 777-300ER is Boeing's best-selling 777 variant, selling over 800 units since 2000.
Key differences between the two 777 types are the size, engines, and wings. The new plane has wingtips that fold up to ensure it fits in the same gate space as the classic model.
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However, this makes safety testing highly complex and thorough — especially in a new regulatory era, where the FAA has tightened certification oversight and no longer allows Boeing to self-certify its planes as freely as it did before.
Operationally, the 777X is similar to its predecessor — and that's by design. Its flight deck resembles that of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner — meaning pilots can jump between all aircraft with little extra training, and airports save on infrastructure costs.
The 787 was Boeing's last completely new widebody plane, launched in 2004. While the Dreamliner is a cash cow with over 2,600 orders and about 1,200 delivered, the planemaker wasn't ready to invest in another challenging, time-consuming, and expensive clean-sheet widebody this time around.
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Still, the decision to maintain cockpit familiarity contributed to the failures of Boeing's 737 Max, as a new system that airlines were not clued into was responsible for crashing two planes in 2018 and 2019.
Similar design flaws on its 777X could further jeopardize Boeing's chances of revival.
The 777X needs the trust of key Middle Eastern customers
Middle Eastern carriers Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad Airways make up the bulk of the 777X orders.
Emirates has 205 on order, 35 of which are for the smaller 777-8 variant. Qatar and Etihad have ordered 124 and 25 777-9s, respectively.
The 777X's size and efficiency make it a favorable choice for these carriers' strong hub-and-spoke networks, which rely on large planes to shuttle as many people as possible between cities at once.
However, the ongoing 777X delays are bad for airlines relying on Boeing to fulfill their demand needs. The longer it remains in development, the longer these carriers have to fly old, costly widebodies — in Emirates' case, the Airbus A380 quad-jet.
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Emirates president Tim Clark has voiced his concern over the various 777X delays in recent years. He told BI in 2024 that the airline already made "significant and highly expensive" fleet adjustments to accommodate Boeing's "contractual shortfalls."
However, Aerotime News reported that Clark told media at the 2025 International Air Transport Association Annual General Meeting in June that he was "cautiously optimistic" that Boeing would deliver its 777X to Emirates in "early 2027" and was pleased with Ortberg's "high degree of determination" in securing 777X certification.
"The important thing is they get it out and it's certified to the rigours of the new Boeing approach to building aircraft, safety of operations, and all the quality controls that they were having difficulties with before that," he said.
Aboulafia said once the 777X hits the market, it will be a "nice enhancement to their financial picture."
Boeing will continue to hand Airbus market share
Another year's delay for the 777X means another year that Airbus can sell and deliver its rival A350.
The popular plane, which was a clean-sheet design and outperforms the 777X in terms of price and range, has already secured over 1,400 orders from the likes of Korean Air, Delta Air Lines, and Singapore Airlines. It has delivered about 700.
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Emirates received its first A350 before its first 777X — a reverse of what was initially expected.
Still, airlines appear to be willing to wait for the 777X. Despite being more expensive at up to $442 million, the Boeing widebody's cockpit familiarity and higher-capacity cabin are huge selling points against the A350.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article was first published in 2024 and it was updated in early October.
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