Boeing’s new 777X completes test flight, as plane maker works to restore reputation

Boeing’s new long-haul 777X airliner made its first flight on Saturday, a step forward for the company whose broader prospects remain clouded by the 737 MAX crisis. After a delay on Friday because of high winds, the jet successfully took off from Paine Field in Everett on Saturday morning and landed about four hours later. First flights typically mark a crowning technological achievement for planemakers, capping years of invention and problem-solving. The 777X was originally to take to the skies for the first time in mid-2019, but that was postponed due to problems with the new engine, manufactured by General Electric, and difficulties with the wings and software. Saturday’s flight was to be the first of a series of in-flight tests. If they go well, Boeing will officially file for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This flight, however, will be clouded with uncertainty for Boeing. The 777-9 is the planemaker’s first new model since two fatal crashes led to the global grounding of its 737 MAX. As the company works to restore its reputation for safety and technical prowess, the new aircraft will face heightened scrutiny from regulators, airlines and investors. Safety aside, there’s concern that the jetliner is simply too big for today’s airlines. The 777-9 is longer than Boeing’s iconic humpbacked 747 and is the first twin-engined jet built to haul a similar load of travellers – 426 people in a typical two-cabin layout. It’s also the company’s priciest plane, available for a cool US$442.2 million before customary discounts. But sales have stalled since an initial order flurry when the 777X was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow in 2013, and long-expected orders from China haven’t materialised amid trade tensions. “It is feeling like the plane is too big for most markets, for most airlines,” said George Ferguson, an aviation analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Boeing’s business has also been weakened by a lack of firm orders from Chinese airlines for its 787 Dreamliner, which is expected to see production cuts. The 777-9 – the first model of the 777X family – is taking off into a turbulent market for aviation’s behemoths as the four-engine jets it was designed to replace fade into the sunset. Airbus is building the last of its A380 double-decker jets, while the future of Boeing’s 747 is very much in question with just 17 orders unfilled and a critical supplier shutting down production. With 115 of the 777X still on order, from major airlines including Emirates, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, Emirates accounts for more than half of Boeing’s total backlog. The long-haul carrier is also the largest customer for Airbus’s superjumbo. But as the A380 fades out of the global fleet over the next decade or so, it’s not a given that its operators will adopt the 777X to overcome congested hubs. For now, the trend is to bypass the industry’s biggest airports with smaller long-range jets. Can Boeing’s new CEO get the 737 MAX back in the air? “Most airlines that we’re dealing with are not interested in replacing [four-engine jets] with the largest twin-engined wide-bodies,” Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman and founder of Air Lease Corp, said in November. “Actually the trend is the other way,” he added, noting interest in smaller planes like Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’s A350. The market may come around as the 777X takes flight and demonstrates its capability, however. It is an expensive plane, Udvar-Hazy said, so airlines will likely wait and see how it performs before deciding on orders. The plane features stunning composite wings, the longest Boeing has ever built, with a span of 235 feet 5 inches (71.75 metres) when fully extended, which will improve fuel efficiency. The 777X will be instantly identifiable by its most distinctive feature: hinges that flip the sculpted wingtips skyward for easier manoeuvring around crowded taxiways and for it to be accommodated at more airports. While that design is a first for a commercial jetliner, it leans on concepts that have been around for about a century for military aircraft, said Mike Lombardi, Boeing’s corporate historian and archivist. The company’s F/A-18 Hornet, for instance, folds its wings to save space on carrier decks. “It’s a very tried and true technology,” Lombardi said. “But I don’t think we’re going to be landing a 777X on a carrier deck any time soon.” US air safety regulators could clear the 737 MAX to return to service before midyear, a person close to the process said on Friday. The plane has been grounded since March following two deadly crashes, in Ethiopia and Indonesia. On Tuesday, Boeing announced that it did not expect to win regulatory approval until mid-2020. It suspended production of the MAX this month but Chief Executive David Calhoun said this week the company plans to begin ramping up production of the model in anticipation of winning regulatory approval to restart service. Troubled Boeing 737 MAX could return to service before summer Calhoun began as CEO earlier in January following the ouster of Dennis Muilenburg, who tenure was rocked by the MAX crisis which led to deteriorating relations between the company and the FAA. Calhoun aims to turn the company around, and has highlighted restoring Boeing’s reputation with regulators, customers and other stakeholders as an imperative.