After a multi-year wait, last Friday, Boeing finally began certification test flights of its 777-9 widebody with FAA personnel on board.

Boeing just had another difficult week. The American aircraft manufacturer informed its customers that they should expect more delivery delays for 737 narrowbodies as it continues to address quality, production, and supply-chain problems.

Elsewhere, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun learned that he may have to appear in front of another Senate committee hearing. This time, the focus would be on the FAA and its inadequate oversight of Boeing.

However, Boeing also received some good news this week regarding the 777X program. We first wrote that Boeing was expecting to start certification flights of the 777-9 with the FAA in December 2020.

This was postponed repeatedly. For Boeing to start these certification flights, the FAA needed to grant the 777-9 with a Type Inspection Authorization (TIA). The FAA refused to do this because of missing or inadequate technical information regarding many of the 777-9’s systems.

777-9 – FAA Certification Comes When?

The 777-9 finally got its TIA this past week, paving the way for these certification flights to start. This suggests that the FAA is now satisfied with the technical information that it has on the aircraft. According to Boeing, the first such flight took place late last Friday.

However, it could still take several months before the FAA finally gives the 777-9 its certification, paving the way for deliveries to start. We have already seen that launch customer Emirates doesn’t expect the type to get its certification before Q1 2025.

The first deliveries would have to wait for a few weeks or months after that. Lufthansa’s fleet plans don’t include any 777-9 deliveries before 2026. Lufthansa was the original launch customer of the 777X family before deciding to scale back its orders and postpone deliveries.

In other good 777-9 news, Boeing looks set to get an order for the type from Korean Air. The airline has also placed widebody orders with Airbus for the A350. However, the 777-9 is a larger widebody, designed as a 747 replacement, which Korean Air uses.

The 777X has yet to receive any orders from U.S. carriers. But with its certification now finally on the horizon, Boeing may hope for the 777-9 to get a major boost by securing such an order in the coming months.

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