The certification of the B777X is falling behind schedule, although it is still expected to happen in 2026 and not slip, even more, to 2027, according to Boeing's chief executive officer, Kelly Ortberg.
Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference, he said there is still a “mountain of work” left before the aircraft is certified, Bloomberg reported. The manufacturer is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration on the next steps for certification and Ortberg warned that even a “minor schedule delay” would have a financial impact.
“We’re clearly behind our plan in getting the certification done,” he conceded.
The first of the B777X Family types, the B777-9, was initially expected to be certified in 2020.
Regarding the possibility of increasing the production rate cap on the B737 MAX line, which currently stands at 38 aircraft per month, Ortberg said Boeing aims to move to 42 by the end of the year.
However, Boeing needs to improve one of six key performance metrics related to out-of-sequence work before it can formally request the FAA to lift the cap. Ortberg is “confident that we will be in a position here pretty soon to sit down with the FAA.”
Finally, the company is making progress towards winning approval from the FAA for changes to the de-icing system on its B737-7 variant. It still expects to certify the aircraft in the first quarter of 2026.
“We’re in the process right now of working with the FAA on the certification of that design, what tasks need to be done, so we’re still planning on getting that certification done next year, getting aircraft delivered next year,” Ortberg said, adding that it is frustrating that it has taken this long “but I think we’ve got a solid design now to base our plan going forward.”
The delays in the B777X, B737-7, and B737-10 programmes and the production caps on existing lines are stopping Boeing from working on an entirely new aircraft, The Seattle Times reported.
Ortberg said Boeing needs to clear the existing certification hurdles in order to deliver new aircraft and generate the cash it needs to fund the development of a new aircraft. “I can’t imagine that we can do a new aeroplane without having that process refined,” he said.
