Worries and delays remain at Boeing
Boeing has released its financial results over the first quarter of 2022. The company posted a USD 1.24 billion loss and also announced large write-offs on various US defence programmes like Air Force One and the T-7.
On the civil side of the business another delay of the B777X was announced. Boeing now estimates that delivery of its newest wide body will be in 2025, without specifying when in the year. The manufacturer will also cease production of the B777X until the end of next year, to prevent the company from building aircraft that might need rework in the future. Last year, Boeing was forced by the FAA to delay the programme and then expected certification in late 2023.
Immediately after the news broke all eyes shifted to Emirates, which said that a new delay would be unacceptable and that the airline might cancel (part of) its order. Various media are, however, reporting that the airline remains committed to the aircraft but is taking another look at its B787-orders, as deliveries of these are also severely delayed. Another issue for Emirates is that twelve B777-9s have so far been produced for the airline and that it's reluctant to take delivery of seven-year-old aircraft.
Another programme with challenges is the B737MAX10. Certification of the largest version of the MAX needs to happen before the end of this year as it is connected to the "2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act", passed by US Congress. If certification slips past the end of 2022, Boeing is forced to either obtain a waiver from Congress or redesign the MAX10 Crew Alerting System. The uncertain timeframe of certification of the MAX10 was one of the reasons Air France-KLM decided to place an order with Airbus for the A320neo-family.
Not all things are bad for Boeing on the MAX-front. Production is ramping up and the manufacturer expects to have all 320 remaining produced and awaiting MAXs to be delivered before the end of next year.
Boeing has also said it is confident that deliveries of the B787 can resume around summer this year. With 115 Dreamliners awaiting delivery, many customers will be happy to welcome their new aircraft as demand picks-up around the world after the pandemic.
Photo by Boeing.