iscover
Boeing has racked up another massive quarterly loss as it again delays delivery of its first 777X to 2027.
The planemaker saw a net loss of over US$5.3 billion for the third quarter of 2025, driven largely by its Commercial Airplanes division, which includes the 737, 777, and 787 programs. Boeing in October reached an agreement with the FAA to increase 737 production from 38 to 42 per month.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
Though the revenue of Commercial Airplanes grew to $11.1 billion, primarily reflecting higher deliveries, the division still lost around $5.4 billion on its own, due largely to the 777X program.
“During the quarter, the company updated its assessment of the 777-9 certification timeline and now anticipates first delivery in 2027, resulting in a pre-tax earnings charge of $4.9 billion,” the company said in an earnings release.
While no Australian airlines have an order for the 777X, a number of overseas carriers which fly to Australia – including Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines – have all ordered the next-generation widebody, an update to the existing 777 platform.
“With a sustained focus on safety and quality, we achieved important milestones in our recovery as we generated positive free cash flow in the quarter and jointly agreed with the FAA in October to increase 737 production to 42 per month,” chief executive Kelly Ortberg said.
“While we are disappointed in the 777X schedule delay, the airplane continues to perform well in flight testing, and we remain focused on the work ahead to complete our development programs and stabilise our operations in order to fully recover our company’s performance and restore trust with all of our stakeholders.”
The news comes as Boeing is rumoured to be in the early stages of work on a clean-sheet replacement for the 737 MAX family.
According to reports, Ortberg met with Rolls-Royce officials in the UK earlier this year to discuss engine options for the aircraft, while “a person familiar with the plans” said Boeing was designing a flight deck for a new narrow-body.
Virgin Australia is currently the only Australian airline operating the 737 MAX 8, though both it and Qantas fly the older 737NG family, which includes the 737-700 and 737-800. Virgin currently has 14 MAX 8s in its fleet, and last year converted a number of MAX 10 orders to MAX 8s due to delays.
Boeing’s current commercial plane backlog stands at over 5,900 aircraft valued at $535 billion.
