Costly delays to Boeing’s 777X rile Emirates

Costly delays to Boeing’s 777X rile Emirates

Delays to the certification of Boeing's 777X long-haul aircraft are costing billions and infuriating top customer Emirates, but the US manufacturer is banking on the model as air traffic rebounds. While still in its testing phase, the world's largest passenger jet flew for the first time outside the United States this week at a major air show in the United Arab Emirates. It is no coincidence that its first international flight was to Dubai, home to aviation giant Emirates which has ordered 115 of the aircraft. The Gulf region, with orders from Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad carrier, accounts for two-thirds of the 320 orders placed since the aircraft's unveiling in 2013. But Boeing announced in July that it had spotted additional problems near the nose of the plane and was working to fix them. A delay for the first deliveries of its new wide-body 777X plane is costing the company $6. 5 billion. "Boeing has shifted the certification to July 2023 and we had a contracted delivery position for June 2020," Emirates' president Tim Clark told reporters at the five-day event. "It's anybody's guess as to whether or not they will achieve that." The delay has cost Emirates