The order, for the state-of-the-art Boeing 777-9 jets (a variant of the 777X), will mainly be used to replace British Airways’ fleet of long-haul 747 jumbos, which the airline said it would. Just over a year ago, in a capital market day presentation, British Airways owner IAG revealed that it would receive its first eight Boeing 777-9 aircraft in 2022. However, with delays to the program, will the order still arrive as planned? Simple Flying looks at what we know so far. British Airways is expecting its.
British Airways 777x Configuration
With its backlog decreasing every week in the face of crises, Boeing has sought to close new sales agreements for its commercial aircraft. The latest attempt involves a new sales agreement for the 787 and 777-9 widebodies that is due to be announced by the end of the month.
The identity of that costumer is not revealed much less the details of the negotiation, but the conditions are unusual. The information on the possible sale came amid a lawsuit between Boeing and the Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr, which had ordered some planes, including four 747-8Fs.
The order, which is not in the backlog, would have been canceled by mutual agreement between the two companies, but the Russians have changed their minds and want to receive the jets.
In the meantime, Boeing has decided to sell these planes to other customers and does not admit delivering them to Volga-Dpner. In the documents sent to the US courts, Boeing states that “finalized the resale of the 747-8F airplane Volga refused and has scheduled delivery of the plane to Customer A,” without revealing the identity of that company.
However, it was two 777F jets also ordered by the Russian company that ended up revealing the future sales agreement. “In recognition of Customer’s partnership with Boeing as a 777 and 787 customer in …, Boeing will issue to Customer a multi-model aircraft credit memorandum in the amount of …, contingent on Customer executing definitive agreements to purchase (i) Model 777-9 aircraft and (ii) additional Model 787 aircraft on later than June 30, 2020,” informs the document sent to the Justice.
Emirates is one of the airlines that fit the customer’s description that was quoted in a legal document (Emirates)Boeing says it is offering the two 777 freighters as a kind of bonus for an undisclosed airline to purchase more units of the 777-9 (largest version of the 777X) and 787. Few airlines have orders for 787 jets. and 777X, as is the case with Emirates, British Airways, All Nippon Airways or Qatar Airways. There is also the possibility of referring to a lessor since there are ten 777Xs from an unidentified customer on the aircraft’s order list.
Few orders
After more than 500 units of the 737 Max canceled in recent months, Boeing urgently needs new orders to justify the investments and infrastructure it maintains to produce so many planes. The case of the 787 and especially the 777X is even more complex since the demand for these jets is falling. The manufacturer has already announced a major reduction in the production rate of the Dreamliner in the coming years while the “Triple Seven” will be assembled at an even lower rate that includes the classic variant.
The 777X program has been an enormous challenge for Boeing, due to the delay in the schedule and also due to the growing lack of interest in large aircraft. Although it is a very efficient aircraft, the largest twin-engine passenger jet in the world has a capacity far above what appears to be the current market reality. There are strong rumors that its customers may delay deliveries or even cancel orders if global air traffic does not return to pre-pandemic levels soon.
In other words, a good sales deal weighs heavily on Boeing, even if it means offering two 777Fs as a bargain and getting in trouble with the Russians.
The Russian company Volga-Dnepr tries in court to guarantee the delivery of an order to Boeing (RAF-YYC)Hello all,
Today we will analyze British Airways’ announcement regarding the 777X order. The British flag carrier ordered 18 777-9 with options for 24 more. The deliveries will be from 2022 until 2025. IAG CEO Willie Walsh explained that 14 777X will replace 747s headed for retirement. The other 4 will replace aging 777-200ER. British Airways will take delivery of its first A350-1000s later this year. Why didn’t the British flag carrier order more A350-1000s, the main 777-9 competitor?
There are 34 aging 747-400 to replace. The order for 18 A350-1000 covers only part of the Jumbo jet replacement. British Airways has options on another 18 A350-1000. Therefore one could argue the A350-1000 had an advantage over the 777-9. Since Iberia already operates the A350-900 IAG would prefer to keep fleet commonality. At around 360 seats it has a very similar capacity to the 777-9 (which has a little more than 400).
However other factors swung the balance in the 777X’s favor. Willie Walsh mentioned the good pricing from Boeing. Facing a cancellation from Etihad Airways, Boeing wanted to line up another customer. A well respected airline like British Airways is the perfect fit. It is worth noting that Etihad Airways cancelled 19 777-9s so the British Airways order almost entirely replaces the loss. However Airbus also provided competitive pricing so this cannot be the only explanation.
While a different aircraft family the 777X has common pilot rating with the 787. That means pilots can fly both aircraft (just like with the A330neo and A350). British Airways already operates 30 Dreamliners and has another 12 on the way. The British flag carrier is also a large 777 classic operator: 58 in total and another one on the way (4 777-300ER will replace 7 777-200 in 2020). So adding the 777X isn’t as bad from fleet commonality standpoint as it seems.
Seatguru British Airways 777
In my opinion the factor that bolstered the 777X’s case the most is London Heathrow. The airport is ground zero of congestion, with 2 runways operating at near full capacity. It is not guaranteed the third runway will be built for 2025, if ever. If that is the case the only way for British Airways to grow passenger numbers will be via the use of larger aircraft. With the A380 out of production in 2 years, the 777X is the next best alternative for a 2-runway Heathrow scenario. The A350-1000 and 777-9 aren’t very different in size. However the 777-9’s extra 40 or so seats can make a substantial difference to the carrier’s profitability on the most popular routes. 777X deliveries will run until 2025, which coincides with Heathrow’s third runway going live.
Below are the scheduled long haul aircraft deliveries at British Airways. Note that I estimated the 777-9 and A350-1000 delivery schedule. The 787 and 777-300ER delivery schedule is from IAG’s 2018 investor day.
| Aircraft | Current | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| A350 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| A380 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| B744 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| B772 | 46 | 46 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 39 |
| B773 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| B779 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 18 |
| B787 | 30 | 30 | 36 | 38 | 39 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Total | 134 | 136 | 143 | 143 | 144 | 149 | 146 | 145 |
And aircraft on order with delivery timelines:
| Long-haul | Outstanding Order | Options | Delivery Timeline |
| A350 | 18 | 18 | 2019-2022 |
| B773 | 4 | 2020 | |
| B779 | 18 | 24 | 2022-2025 |
| B787 | 12 | 2020-2023 | |
| Total | 52 | 42 |
British Airways 777 Premium Economy
Once the carrier has more clarity on Heathrow’s 3rd runway it will be able to consider replacement options for the remaining 777-200ERs. The 777-200ERs are aging fast: the first will hit 25 years by mid 2020 and all but 4 by end of 2026. British Airways will also see how the market evolves. In any case it has plenty of options to replace the remaining 39 777-200ER: 787, A350, 777X. Expect fierce competition from Airbus and Boeing to win another order from the British flag carrier.
British Airways Boeing 777 Seating
To summarize British Airways ordered the 777X for several reasons: good pricing from Boeing, crew commonality with the 787 and largest aircraft in production to increase capacity at congested London Heathrow airport. The uncertainty surrounding the third runway and how market conditions will evolve led the British flag carrier to hedge its bets. The carrier has plenty of options to replace its aging 777-200ERs: from the 787-8 all the way up to the 777-9. We did not discuss the A380 replacement because it won’t likely happen until the 2030s.
Credit: Brandsoftheworld.com