The FAA won’t certify Boeing’s long-delayed 777X in 2026 — the regulator is clearing the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 first. For airlines counting on 2027 deliveries, the clock just got tighter.
The Federal Aviation Administration will not certify Boeing’s 777X widebody aircraft this year, the agency’s top official said Wednesday, placing the long-delayed program behind two 737 MAX variants and casting fresh doubt on 2027 deliveries.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford made the disclosure at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 28, signaling a firm certification queue that positions the 777X last among Boeing’s three pending type certificates. According to Aviation Week, Bedford expects the MAX 7 to be certified this summer and the MAX 10 by year-end, with the 777X to follow in early 2027.
“I think we’ll get the MAX 7 first, then followed by the -10 and hopefully the 777 early next year,” Bedford said.
The 777X, launched in 2013 and originally targeting certification in 2019 and service entry in 2020, is now at least seven years behind schedule. The program has accumulated approximately $15.9 billion in charges, including a $4.9 billion pre-tax charge Boeing recorded in the third quarter of 2025 when the company officially shifted first 777-9 deliveries from 2026 to 2027.
The day before Bedford’s statement, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg offered a more optimistic near-term assessment at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York on May 27.
“You should expect that we will hopefully be done with our flight test program by the end of the year, with the exception of ETOPS… But we’re building the airplanes and getting ready to start the deliveries next year,” Ortberg said.
Ortberg separately acknowledged that extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards — ETOPS — testing would extend into next year, confirming that full 777X certification will not be achieved in 2026. Boeing has maintained throughout the program’s successive delays that no new technical issues have emerged and that the certification process itself, not newly discovered engineering defects, accounts for the continuing timeline movement.
Roughly 30 Completed Aircraft Require Rework Before Delivery
A stored-inventory problem compounds the delivery outlook. During Boeing’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call on April 22, Ortberg disclosed that roughly 30 completed 777X aircraft parked at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, will require modification before any can reach customers.
“We’ve got roughly 30 777s that’ll go through this change incorp process over several years,” Ortberg said.
Those airframes were built as the design evolved through years of certification testing. Required changes vary by aircraft age and may include software and avionics updates, modifications to fuselage and wing roots, thrust link assembly retrofits, and changes to wiring and pneumatic lines. Older aircraft — some parked for as long as six years — require the most extensive structural work; newer builds need only minor software and systems changes.
Boeing plans to skip the stored inventory entirely and deliver new-production aircraft first, targeting Lufthansa as the launch customer in mid-2027. Airlines including Emirates and Lufthansa have confirmed they will not accept reworked airframes and will wait for new-production planes.
In May 2026, the first production-standard 777-9 built for Lufthansa completed a three-hour maiden flight at Everett. That aircraft, already outfitted with the airline’s new Allegris business class cabin, is currently undergoing real-world systems testing for galleys, in-flight entertainment, and Wi-Fi performance.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said the airline is preparing contingencies. He stated that “the Airbus A340-300 will continue to fly in 2027” and that Lufthansa “has higher numbers of that type” it is able to use to “compensate possible delays involving the 777X.” Spohr said he remains confident in receiving the first 777X in 2027, but the airline is not “getting complacent about these timelines.”
Emirates, the program’s largest customer with 115 orders, has adopted a cautious posture and is preparing for service entry no earlier than 2027, with some sources indicating the possibility of 2028 deliveries.
737 MAX Certification Is Boeing’s Critical Financial Lifeline
The certification sequencing Bedford outlined carries broad financial consequences for Boeing’s recovery. The 737 MAX 10 holds over 1,400 firm orders; launch customer WestJet expects the aircraft in service by late 2026. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary confirmed Boeing’s confidence in MAX 10 certification in the third quarter of 2026, with Ryanair’s first 15 MAX 10 deliveries guaranteed by spring 2027.
The MAX 7, with fewer than 300 orders, is vital to launch customer Southwest Airlines, which accounts for roughly 90% of commitments for the smallest MAX variant and anticipates certification by the third quarter of 2026. Cash flow from the 737 single-aisle family funds the widebody 777X program; losing further narrowbody market share to Airbus’s A321neo family would deepen Boeing’s financial pressure.
The FAA formally began its certification review of both MAX variants on Dec. 12, 2025. On May 28, Bedford also told the International Aviation Club in Washington that the agency expects to certify the MAX 10 before the end of 2026 and has identified no issues that would delay approval, though flight testing remains ongoing.
On the 777X front, the FAA on March 17, 2026, cleared the 777-9 to begin Phase 4A of its Type Inspection Authorization — the first time FAA pilots directly participated in certification flight testing of the aircraft. Boeing must complete Phase 4A and all subsequent phases, including ETOPS, before receiving a type certificate.
The 777X order backlog stands at approximately 619 aircraft, including 115 for Emirates, 40 for Qatar Airways, 31 for Singapore Airlines, 21 for Cathay Pacific, 20 for Lufthansa, 18 for British Airways, 18 for ANA, 17 for Etihad Airways, and 10 for Air India. In April 2026, an unidentified buyer placed 28 additional 777X orders — assessed by analysts as potentially from Saudi Arabian carriers or Turkish Airlines — indicating continued demand despite the program’s troubled history.
The 777X family is powered exclusively by the General Electric GE9X, the largest commercial jet engine in history. Its 777-9 variant carries approximately 426 passengers with a range of 8,383 miles. The aircraft features industry-first folding wingtips that automatically retract at 50 knots on the ground, reducing the wingspan from 235 feet 5 inches to 212 feet 9 inches. The cabin borrows extensively from the 787 Dreamliner, with electronically dimmable windows 16% larger than those on the legacy 777, a lower cabin altitude, and a sculpted interior wall for extra shoulder width.
Boeing’s prolonged 777X delays have handed a sustained competitive advantage to Airbus, whose A350 family continues capturing long-haul widebody orders. An Airbus A350 freighter variant is expected to enter service in mid-2027, adding further competitive pressure on Boeing’s widebody franchise.
Key Takeaways
- The FAA will not certify Boeing’s 777X in 2026; Administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 must be certified first — this summer and by year-end, respectively.
- Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg expects 777X flight testing to wrap by year-end 2026, except for ETOPS, which will extend into 2027, with deliveries targeting that year.
- About 30 completed 777X aircraft stored in Everett, Wash., require rework before delivery; Boeing will skip the stored inventory and deliver new-production planes to launch customer Lufthansa first.
- The program is at least seven years late from its 2020 service-entry target, with approximately $15.9 billion in accumulated charges.
- Certification of the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 in 2026 would strengthen the 737 family’s cash flow that keeps the 777X program financially viable.