Boeing 777X aims for commercial launch in 2025

EVERETT, Washington — In a gigantic factory that a Boeing executive calls the “largest in the world” by volume, the airline is currently assembling the world’s largest twin-engine aircraft: the 777X.

The Seattle-area factory is filled with flying behemoths in various stages of production. Behind an open hangar door, the snow-capped mountains of Washington State peek out.

Boeing’s plant in Everett will assemble three versions of the jet: the 777-200 freighter, which is based on a 777 model already in service; the next-generation 777-9, which has yet to be certified; and the 777-8, another new model that’s slightly smaller than the 777-9. The two versions can carry between 380 and more than 400 passengers.

Company executives stress that Boeing’s long-term outlook remains positive, thanks in part to the new 777X.

The 777, a stalwart of long-haul commercial aviation, is “the most successful twin-aisle airplane ever,” Boeing CEO Brad Till told reporters during a factory tour late last month.

Boeing has received more than 2,250 orders for 777 models since the family launched 30 years ago. The 777 has carried about 3.9 billion passengers on 15.9 million flights.

777 rework

Boeing expects to complete repairs on more than 100 Dreamliner 787 planes by the end of 2024 after production problems were discovered in the fuselage, a senior company official said.

“We’ll be done this year,” Scott Stocker, head of Boeing’s South Carolina plant, told reporters at a recent briefing in Everett, where the work is taking place.

The operation focuses on rework and a process called “join verification” after Boeing employees raised concerns about gaps between parts and other issues.

The company has 60 Dreamliner aircraft in inventory and has already worked on 50 to 60 aircraft, Stocker said.

Stocker described the operation as a multi-year process that will be completed in the coming months.

Boeing has suspended deliveries between 2020 and 2022 due to the problem, which the company said posed no immediate flight risk.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Boeing announced that the problems with the 787 had cost $3.5 billion. The resolution of these problems took longer than expected.

The company then projected an additional $3 billion in abnormal costs for the 787 in 2023.

The issue resurfaced in April when Boeing engineer and whistleblower Sam Salehpour publicly expressed concerns about the possibility of a catastrophic accident. He and other Boeing critics testified before a U.S. Senate panel.

Boeing defended the 787 as safe, pointing to what the company described as extensive testing conducted under the supervision of U.S. aviation safety officials.

Boeing has also slowed production of the 787 as the company focuses more on safety and quality control, following recent problems with the 737 MAX, which have put the company under fire.

“We’re making good progress,” Stocker said of the operation in North Charleston, where the 787 is assembled.

“We plan to gradually return to five per month,” he said.

Through June, Boeing had received 2,368 orders for the 787, which entered service in 2011. Of these, 786 are listed as undelivered.

50,000 commercial aircraft market

According to a forecast released by Boeing on Friday, airlines will have just over 50,000 commercial planes in 2043, nearly double the current number.

The global fleet is forecast to “nearly double over the next 20 years,” with about half of deliveries consisting of new, higher-fuel-efficient models replacing older jets.

“The balance between replacement and growth is very fine, about 50-50,” said Darren Hulst, vice president of marketing for Boeing’s commercial aerospace division.

While airlines have announced ambitious orders to modernize their fleets, both Boeing and European rival Airbus are facing supply chain shortages, delaying delivery times for many aircraft.

That has led to fewer retirements of older aircraft. In the 2020-2023 period, the rate of aircraft disposal was half the pace of the 2010s, as airlines hold on to older aircraft to meet travel demand.

But less than a third of the 26,750 aircraft currently in service will still be in service in 20 years.

Passenger traffic is forecast to grow by an average of 4.7 percent annually, outpacing the 3.2 percent growth of the aircraft fleet.

Airlines are meeting demand by “increasing load factors and operating aircraft for more hours per day,” Boeing said.