Blog #10: 01/25/23: Aviation Blog - News! Where is the 777X?
Hi there! Welcome back to another episodic blog of Brooke In The Air!
The 777X initial roll-out at the Seattle factory-plant in 2019.
Source: (By Dan Nevill from Seattle, WA, United States - 20190313_034809, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77436780)
Today we’re going over latest news in commercial aviation!
Today’s news is as much a mystery as it is a question, where on Earth is Boeing’s 777X?
A plane that was supposed to herald the future generation of commercial aviation. A plane that was supposed to fly better, faster, carrying more people, and becoming more efficient in fuel and carbon emissions. The Boeing 777X first flew in 2019 after nearly 8 eight years of development, as the 777 was designed to compete with Airbus’s A350 -XWB, or Xtra-Wide Body. But since then, we’ve heard nothing.
Well, almost nothing. Apparently, there were extensive problems with the GE-9X engine, the newest low-carbon-emission engine and the most fuel efficient and overall powerful engine developed for mass production.
GE-9X Turbofan
General Electric’s GE-9X Engine, designed to be top of the line in all regards.
On display here at the 2008 Farnborough Air Show, United Kingdom
Source: (By Dysanovic from Reading, United Kingdom - flickr.com/photos/dysanovic/2678713012, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52955829)
With 353 orders pending from customers including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Lufthansa for both the passenger and cargo versions, many increasingly disgruntled customer representatives are losing patience with continual delays. Of Boeing’s four test aircraft, two haven’t left the ground in over six months, the other two aircraft resumed intermittent test flying after issues with the GE-9X engine were apparently resolved, though one of the pair was grounded again after a cargo door blew off mid-flight and the FAA and to send evaluators out to investigate Boeing and their project 777X.
After the Boeing 737-MAX series was launched and the 787 Dreamliner getting ready to debut, Boeing decided to delay launch of the 777X and instead focus on improving the 777-300/300-ER which gaining massive popularity, especially in the Middle East. Problems and subsequent crashes with the 737-MAX forced Boeing to delay launching the 777X even further (Boeing is just now in 2023 being brought up on charges for the two notable crashes of 37-MAX aircraft which ended more than 320 lives).
Emirates’ fleet of 777-300 and 777-300ER aircraft parked at their gates at Dubai International Airport
Source: (By Konstantin von Wedelstaedt - Website: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Emirates/Boeing-777-31H/0923252/M/, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16640714)
Unfortunately, due to cost overruns, low labor/labor shortage, and continual structural problems that continue to plague the 777X in flight, from wings to central fuselage, Boeing doesn’t expect the 777X to be ready to ship to initial customers until mid-2025. For now, the 777X testbed aircraft sit at their Everett, Washington plant, flying intermittently and trying to solve problems as they crop up.
The 777-9 was (is) supposed to be a massive new aircraft, seating over 420 passengers but this won’t happen until the technical problems are sorted and General Electric finishes its evaluation of its GE-9X engine.
777X at Roll-Out
Illustrating the new folding wing-tip design, Seattle, WA
Source: (By Dan Nevill from Seattle, WA, United States - 20190313_045542, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77402117)
