If there’s one airline that’s keenly associated with the forthcoming Boeing 777X more than any other, it’s Emirates. The outspoken boss of the Middle Eastern airline, Sir Tim Clark, has been painfully transparent with the world’s media regarding his personal feelings towards the delays with the aircraft.

For Emirates, it’s been a tough journey. For an airline that runs entirely on widebody aircraft, timely deliveries of new assets are essential. As such, Emirates plans out its fleet renewal strategy with meticulous precision, and delays by manufacturers are more than a small headache when they happen.

Emirates 777X
 Photo: Boeing

Emirates has been pushed back and back on the introduction of the 777-9, and is having to keep some older Airbus A380s for longer to manage its capacity in the meantime. Most recently, he’s noted that he doesn’t expect his first 777X to arrive before 2025. With Boeing’s production paused amid slow progress on flight testing, that notion doesn’t seem entirely unfounded. But could another issue now see the deliveries pushed back even further?

Engine problems on the 777X

The 777X has a pair of the largest aircraft engines in the world on its wings – the GE9X. As well as certifying the new airplane, this technology needs to be put through its paces too. And not everything is going as smoothly as GE would like. Speaking to aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth, as shared by Aerotime, Sir Tim noted that there had been a problem with the giant engines of the 777X last month. He said,

“We know there was an engine glitch in October. They stopped the test program – not that there was much going on anyway. They dropped the engine, took it to General Electric in Cincinnati, and on December 6, 2022, we will get a heads up on what the problem is. Until then we wait for the results of the breakdown of the engine.”

A Boeing 777X in the manufacturer's livery is seen flying at the 2022 Farnborough Airshow
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

Clark didn’t elaborate on the issue with the engine, stating that it would need to be thoroughly investigated. He did note that Boeing had paused the test program until the summer of next year, but that even this restart date could be at risk, depending on what’s wrong with the GE9X.

“In the worst case it’s a design issue and it becomes more complicated. If the engine broke because there was a batch problem with components, it’s possible they will restart the test program in January.”

What’s the delivery estimate now?

Boeing has publicly said that it intends to deliver the first 777-9s starting in late 2024 or early 2025. But with more issues clouding the matter, Sir Tim believes that date could now be at risk. He said to Spaeth,

“The July 2025 delivery date we estimate is something I said, not Boeing. They said they want to deliver by the end of 2024 or first quarter of 2025. I said judging by their performance today, we make that July 2025. And Boeing Commercial CEO Stan Deal agreed.”

GE9X engine on a parked Boeing 777X.
Photo: GE

Nevertheless, the airline President noted that he is very keen not to see any further delays to the 777X program.

“The aircraft is over five years late and, if it continues to be late, our patience will be truly tested. We have an aging fleet, which needs to be replaced.”

GE Aerospace provided the following statement regarding the situation:

“GE is reviewing a technical issue that occurred during GE9X post-certification engineering testing, and we are closely coordinating with Boeing on our findings to support their return to flight testing.”

Boeing similarly noted that,

We are supporting GE Aerospace as they assess a recent GE9X engine issue and will resume airplane testing once their thorough process and appropriate actions are complete. Safety is our top priority, and our supplier and technical teams will take the time necessary to support the review as we work transparently with our customers and regulators.

Source: Aerotime