Boeing cleared for next phase of 777-9 certification

The airframer can begin the last significant certification phase for the 777-9.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared Boeing to begin work on Type Inspection Authorisation (TIA) 4b for the long-delayed aircraft, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stephanie Pope said at the IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro on 6 June.

“There’s five TIAs that we have to work through; 4b is the last, I would say, significant amount of work, predominantly focused on systems like avionics,” she says.

Pope adds: “This authorisation unlocks the largest remaining portion of our flight test with the FAA that we can now go execute.”

Boeing aims to complete 777-9 flight tests this year and plans to deliver the first aircraft to airlines in 2027.

Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg warned investors on 27 May that extended-range twin operations (ETOPS) clearance for the 777-9 was likely to extend into 2027. ETOPS is critical for airlines to fly the aircraft over vast stretches of ocean or polar regions.

The FAA cleared the airframer to begin TIA 4a certification work in March with Ortberg saying in April they expected to move on to 4b “very soon”.

Boeing has 652 orders for the 777X, including 270 from Emirates and 124 from Qatar Airways, the company’s latest Orders and Deliveries data shows. Either Emirates or Lufthansa is widely believed to be the launch operator.