BA Boeing Co

By Doug Cameron 

Boeing Co.'s new 777X jetliner took off on its maiden flight Saturday, starting the clock on expected reforms in how regulators approve aircraft for service in the wake of two fatal crashes involving 737 MAX planes.

The twin-aisle 777X is a refresh of a best-selling model that first flew in 1995. It is already behind schedule following technical problems and is due to enter service during a downturn in orders for larger planes that has forced Boeing to trim production rates.

The first 777X took off from a Boeing production facility north of Seattle after two previous efforts were scrubbed last week because of poor weather.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline is due to receive the first 777X, but Boeing has had to push deliveries back until next year, following problems with new GE9X engines made by General Electric Co. The plane can seat more than 400 passengers.

The delivery timing hinges on how regulators progress with the certification of the 777X, which is being scrutinized -- like the 737 MAX -- as a derivative of an existing design rather than an all-new aircraft.

David Calhoun, Boeing's new chief executive, this week said certification is set to change for all new planes amid the ongoing review of the MAX.

"The certification process is a new one and it's going to get applied to every next airplane, so we have a lot of planning to do around the 777X, etc., to make sure that we can accommodate a really thorough review and investigation," he told reporters. "It's just the way it's going to be."

Overseas regulators, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, have indicated they will conduct a parallel review of the 777X, a departure from established practice in which they have usually deferred to the decisions of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Over the years, EASA, as the Cologne, Germany-based agency is known, and the FAA have worked out procedures to rely extensively on each other to lead safety approval of new aircraft on either side of the Atlantic, typically with limited involvement by the other agency.

The uncertainty over when the 777X will enter service coincides with a sluggish recent order history. Boeing has firm orders for 309 of the jets from nine customers, 200 of them from the Middle East trio of Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Production of the existing 777 has already been cut to around 3.5 a month, and could be trimmed further as Boeing works through the 777X certification. Boeing is also considering a cut in monthly output of the smaller 787 jetliner to 12 from 14 later this year.

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2020 14:24 ET (19:24 GMT)

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