By Howard Hardee \u2022 Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n September 17, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Boeing\u2019s admission that the long-delayed certification of the 777X is expected to slip into next year may not surprise many industry observers. For months, it has appeared that the airframer\u2019s next-generation 777 widebody jet was lagging the certification progress of the smaller 737 Max 7 and Max 10, with flight-testing incomplete and a critical authorization for long-hauling flying still out of reach.<\/p>\n CEO Kelly Ortberg still made waves with his comments during the Morgan Stanley Laguna conference on September 16 that certification flight testing of the 777-9 will likely wrap up early next year. He insisted that the company is on track to hand over at least some of the twin-aisle, folding-wingtip jets to airlines in 2027.<\/p>\n Ortberg said that Boeing is \u201ccontinuing to tick off the flight tests that are under the approved type inspection authorities\u201d on the 777X program. The airframer has yet to secure ETOPS (extended-range twin-engine operations performance standards) authorization, which establishes guidelines for flying long-haul flights while staying within range of suitable diversion airports in engine-out scenarios. From the perspective of airline customers such as Emirates and Lufthansa Group, securing ETOPS authorization is absolutely vital for deploying the aircraft on international routes.<\/p>\n The delay in securing ETOPS is \u201crelated to the mid-seal issue we\u2019ve got with the engine,\u201d Ortberg said.<\/p>\n A Boeing 777-9 powered by massive GE Aerospace GE9X engines flies at the Dubai air show in 2025. Photo credit: David McIntosh\/AIN<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cUntil we get the mid-seal certification plan complete, we can\u2019t get authorization to start ETOPS; we\u2019re expecting that very soon,\u201d he said. \u201cGE is working on that diligently. I think they had to do a little more testing than what we originally planned. I think they\u2019re still confident in the fix, so we\u2019ve got to get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHaving said that, that\u2019s probably going to cause us a little bit of a challenge between now and the end of the year,\u201d Ortberg added. \u201cWe may see some of the testing spill into the next year, and we\u2019re still planning on 2027 deliveries\u2026We\u2019ve still got a lot in front of us on the flight test program; not done until we\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n Curiously, both Boeing and GE Aerospace point at each other when identifying which company has remaining work on ETOPS authorization.<\/p>\n Some industry watchers, such as Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic Advisory, have long anticipated the news that certification of the 777-9 would not happen this year. \u201cI mean, I think a lot of people knew that it was going to slip,\u201d he told Leeham News and Analysis (LNA)<\/strong>. \u201cErrors and mistakes committed in the past have a way of traveling to the right and making everything difficult. Even though I think the company\u2019s gotten a lot better over the last 18 months, it\u2019s still haunted by past disasters.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, certification of the 777-9\u2014now a full seven years behind the originally stated schedule\u2014has floundered partially as a byproduct of the back-to-back 737 Max crashes of 2018-19, which resulted in more-intense FAA scrutiny and severe delays of Max 7 and Max 10 certification, as well.<\/p>\n Boeing and enginemaker GE Aerospace have also been required to address technical issues with the type\u2019s massive GE9X turbofans\u2014first the form of thrust-link fatigue and then the more recent mid-seal durability problem.<\/p>\n During the Morgan Stanley conference, GE Aerospace\u2019s chief financial officer, Rahul Ghai, described the company\u2019s efforts to resolve the latter issue on the GE9X engines while maintaining that the 777-9 is still tracking to enter service next year.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through the testing of the engine, we found our mid-seal\u2014which is one of the parts that connects the front and the back of the engine\u2014was not as durable as we had expected,\u201d he said. \u201cWhich is the reason you test the aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghai clarified that Boeing and GE Aerospace \u201cdoes not need a new mid-seal for certification.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe plan was, and always has been, that we can have the certification completed with the existing mid-seal; we\u2019ve been working with the FAA to get that done,\u201d he said. \u201cBoeing needs to submit that approval to the FAA along with other approvals they need for TIA [type inspection authorization] complete so they can start ETOPS testing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghai said that GE Aerospace is taking a supporting role in satisfying those FAA requirements\u2014conflicting somewhat with Ortberg\u2019s characterization of who is handling remaining work.<\/p>\n On the production side, Ghai said, GE Aerospace has developed a new mid-seal for the GE9X, following extensive testing of the less-durable iteration. The company has a \u201chuge degree of confidence that our design will work,\u201d he said, and it has already started shipping GE9X engines with the new mid-seal design to Boeing. FAA certification of the new part should be secured \u201cin the next few months.\u201d<\/p>\n In terms of the overall delivery timeline, Aboulafia said that deliveries are still likely in 2027, though probably not until very late in the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThings would have to be really in bad shape for them not to deliver at least a few planes at some point in 2027,\u201d he said. \u201cJust maybe not as many as expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Boeing had originally expected to secure an amended type certificate for the 777-9 in early 2020. Photo credit: David McIntosh\/AIN\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Of course, there is the open question of which, if any, airlines will take the early production 777-9s Boeing has in storage, or whether at least some of those widebody jets will be disassembled and written off. As LNA<\/strong> has previously reported<\/strong><\/a>, Boeing may be facing another \u201cterrible teens\u201d scenario, similar to the problematic early examples on the 787 Dreamliner.<\/p>\n The 777X certification is further threatened by looming labor action. Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees (SPEEA) are considering a revised four-year contract offer from Boeing management after rejecting the company\u2019s first proposal. If the sides do not reach an agreement by October 6, the white-collar union would be free to strike. Both sides have expressed optimism that a suitable contract will be reached in time, but some union members have lingering distaste from previous rounds of negotiations and the outcome remains unclear.<\/p>\n It is certain, however, that thousands of engineers walking off the job would be detrimental to Boeing\u2019s certification efforts. A strike would be one of the last things the company needs<\/a> <\/strong>as it seeks to gain momentum in its recovery and begin generating revenue from the 777X program, which is already seven years behind schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me be clear\u2014we\u2019re working very hard to try to avoid any kind of a work stoppage,\u201d Ortberg said. \u201cThat\u2019s our key priority because the impact would be significant. Essentially, the 777 certification program shuts down until we get the engineers back, and it would have a ripple effect into our production.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/leehamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/R7DM0465-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCracks in the Plan\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Confidence in Production Solution\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u2018777 Certification Program Shuts Down\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n