Delays hit B777X deliveries

First deliveries of the Boeing B777-9 to Emirates are not now expected before 2021, according to the airline’s president, Tim Clark, speaking at a Dubai conference and later confirmed by the manufacturer.

The B777 programme is reported to have been affected by problems with the General Electric GE9X engine and by failed ground stress tests in September. Boeing said there was now “significant risk” to its schedule of first deliveries in 2020.

Clark, whose airline is the largest customer for the new version of the B777 with 35 Dash-8s and 115 Dash-9s on order, added that he expects Boeing to conduct thorough, 13-to-16-month testing of the aircraft before they entered service.

The delay also has implications for Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific. Both have ordered the B777-9, which Boeing says will be first off the assembly line, and are planning to launch new premium products to coincide with the aircraft’s arrival.

Lufthansa, the launch customer for the Dash-9, has a new Business Class layout waiting (below), with next-generation seats in an alternating 1+2+1 and 1+1+1 pattern to provide direct-aisle access for every passenger, a feature it has previously lacked.

Cathay also has new Business Class designs in mind and has also indicated its B777-9 would see the introduction of new First Class suites.

(See also Heads roll as Boeing is criticised and IAG concern at Airbus hold-up in this issue).

www.emirates.com   www.lufthansa.com   www.cathaypacific.com

www.boeing.com

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