Emirates will receive a test 777X from Boeing and General Electric (GE) Aerospace so that the airline can fly the aircraft on potential routes in 2024.
In order for Emirates to deploy the wide-body aircraft for route testing, Boeing and GE Aerospace, the manufacturer of the GE9X, will ship off a 777X-9 to the airline. The foldable wing-tip jet will fly for the airline based at Dubai International Airport (DXB) for around two months.
The route proving program at Emirates has been verified to Leeham News by Stan Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Boeing is now working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to certify the 777X. At a Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in early June 2023, Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun stated that there was a “big hanging issue” due to the FAA and EASA’s disagreement “on the certification principles and design principles that were embedded.”
But now that the problems have been “documented” and have been fixed, Boeing is “marching down the path.” Additionally, Calhoun stated that GE Aerospace, the firm that makes the GE9X engine, the only engine choice for the 777X, now acknowledges the issues with the engine and that a “program to fix it is in place”.
The Boeing CEO mentioned that the 777X ought to receive certification in 2025.
