Summary Many legacy 777 operators have yet to place an order for Boeing's 777X. Billed as a quadjet replacement, the 777-9 is too big for many airlines. The Airbus A350 has become a formidable competitor, creating some high-profile defectors.
Simple Flying recently looked at the airlines that have ordered the 777X , their motivations for doing so, and the likely impact on their fleets. It became clear that the 503 orders for the Boeing 777X to date are likely below expectations, lagging both the orders for its predecessor, the Boeing 777-300ER, and well behind the competing Airbus A350 , which has over 1,300 orders to date. There could be multiple reasons for this, not least the well-publicized challenges that Boeing has endured in testing and certifying the 777X that have led to at least a 5-year delay.
But what impact has the A350 had on traditional 777 territory, and is it possible that nearly 2,000 orders for the Boeing 787 are also cannibalizing its larger stablemate? The best way to understand these issues is to take a closer look at legacy Boeing 777 customers who have not ordered the 777X. Boeing currently has 503 total 777X orders from 13 named airlines and some as-yet unidentified customers. They’re just not that into you There are fourteen airlines that have placed an order for the 777X (13 named and one unnamed).
There are also fourteen airlines that have purchased 15 or more B777s (of all variants) in the past but have not placed a 777X order yet. As outlined i.