Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) will be the launch customer of the B777X family with the first delivery taking place in 2026, Boeing’s management said during the company’s 2024 fourth quarter investors call.
Kelly Ortberg, president and chief executive of Boeing, said that "the first 777X delivery is to Lufthansa", while also referring to the "seat challenges" that the German carrier has been facing.
Brian J West, executive vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Boeing, then elaborated: “Flight testing [for the 777X] recently resumed, and we still expect first delivery in 2026, and we will continue to follow the lead of the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] as we move through certification.”
Deliveries of the first B777X are now running over five years behind the original schedule. In August 2024, Boeing grounded its B777-9 test fleet over structural issues as the company detected thrust link failures. Addressing these problems, Ortberg said: “We have a good handle on fixing the thrust link issue we uncovered.”
The B777X family consists of the B777-8, B777-8F, and B777-9 types. Lufthansa has ordered twenty of the latter and seven of the freighter model for Lufthansa Cargo, as shown in the ch-aviation fleets module.
Overall, Boeing has received orders for 540 aircraft from the B777X family from 12 identified customers, with Emirates (EK, Dubai International) having the most significant order, expecting thirty-five B777-8s and 170 B777-9s.
Lufthansa was not immediately available for comment.
