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The Boeing 777X has been one of the most infamously delayed aircraft programs in history. Originally set to enter service back in 2020, a perfect storm of factors both outside (the coronavirus pandemic) and inside (quality issues) Boeing’s control has seen its launch be pushed further and further back, with 2027 now being the intended year. However, its certification efforts may be put on hold soon.
Indeed, next month, 
Boeing engineers may go on strike, which would bring the type’s already drawn-out certification efforts to a halt. These workers’ contracts will expire in early October, and, as yet, they have yet to agree to a pay deal for their new contracts. Such a strike would likely have knock-on effects impacting production as well as certification, so Boeing will be hoping for a swift resolution.
A Strike Could Halt Certification Efforts
According to coverage of the matter by Live & Let’s Fly, the workforce in question consists of 17,000 engineers and technical staff, whose current contracts are set to come to an end on October 6. They are represented by the SPEEA union, which rejected a pay deal for their new contracts last month, resulting in 88% of members voting in favor of strike action. Since then, Boeing has tabled a new offer.
This offer, SPEEA notes, includes a headline wage increase of 10% as of October 16, among other perks. The union credits its members’ action with forcing Boeing to table a better offer, which it has recommended that they accept. However, until its ratification, uncertainty remains surrounding the potential for them to go on strike after all, with The Takeoff Nap quoting Boeing CEO Kelly Ortbeg as saying that:
“If we did have a strike, essentially the 777 certification program shuts down until we get the engineers back.”
The Current State Of The Boeing 777X’s Order Book
Despite its ongoing certification delays, airlines around the world are still looking to the Boeing 777X as the future of high-capacity long-haul flying. The most popular variant is the larger Boeing 777-9, with present fleet data made available by ch-aviation showing that carriers around the world have collectively put their names down for some 560 firm orders, as well as a single firm order for a BBJ 777-9.
Emirates is by far the largest customer among these operators, accounting for 235 of the 560 firm orders, with other big hitters including Qatar Airways (90), Korean Air (40), and Cathay Pacific (35). Emirates is the only airline that currently has firm orders for the smaller 777-8, with 35 in the books, while the cargo-carrying 777-8F has attracted 89 firm orders, with Qatar Airways (34) being its biggest customer.
However, as it stands, these airlines, and other customers, run the risk of having to wait even longer for their new Triple-Sevens to arrive. After all, if a strike held up certification efforts, this would also likely hit production and delivery timelines. Elsewhere, Leeham News notes that delays in securing ETOPS authorization due to, per Ortberg, a “mid-seal issue we’ve got with the engine,” are another complication.
The Strike May Also Threaten 737 MAX Production
If Boeing’s 17,000 SPEEA-affiliated engineers and technical staff were to go on strike, the 777X would not be the only family of commercial aircraft that would be impacted by such industrial action. Indeed, as Simple Flying reported earlier this month, production of Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody twinjets would also be at risk, undoing all of the hard work that Boeing has done to get its lines back up to speed.
Following an extensive grounding period due to two fatal crashes, the MAX re-entered service and production after a comprehensive recertification process. Boeing thus grew its production rate for the type, but this was capped at 38/month after the 2024 Alaska Airlines door plug blowout. It is now permitted to produce 47, having worked up from 38 and 42, but a strike would impact this kind of work as well.
