Despite receiving 481 orders from airlines around the world, Boeing has been unable to sell its new wide-body jetliner to US airlines.
United executives say that’s because the upcoming 777X, the world’s largest twin-engine plane currently in production, is simply too big for the airline’s needs.
“We think the 777X will be a very good airplane, but it’s a very big airplane,” Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, told Business Insider. “Given our hub structure, we think a smaller wide-body airplane would actually be better.”
Quayle explained that United Airlines has seven hubs across the US, including Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Newark, New Jersey.
He said such an extensive network would allow airlines to spread out passenger journeys by serving the same destinations from multiple hub cities, rather than having all passengers travel through one central airport.
United Airlines is investing heavily in Boeing 787s of various sizes and ranges. JanValls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images
Quayle cited London and Sydney as an example, saying the British capital has 22 daily flights from all seven of United’s hubs, while Sydney has flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.
“We’re not going to take people from the West Coast and fly them to the East Coast and then fly them to London,” he said. “We have direct flights from the West Coast, direct flights from the mountains, direct flights from Houston and Chicago, and direct flights from the East Coast.”
United’s wide-body fleet consists of Boeing 767s, classic 777s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline has orders for a record 150 787s to replace its 767s and some 777s from 2022 onwards.
United already operates more than 70 Dreamliners in three types of aircraft with different ranges — small, midsize and large — giving the airline greater route and capacity flexibility.
The 777X is well suited to United’s central hubs.
The 777X is intended to be a more efficient, higher-capacity, long-range jetliner to replace the aging Boeing 747 and Airbus A380.
Quayle said the 777X’s massive size makes it well suited to airlines with one big hub, such as Emirates in Dubai, Qatar Airways in Doha, Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong and British Airways at London Heathrow, all of which have the plane on order.
“Everything goes out and everything comes back in, and it all happens through this giant interconnect,” Quayle said. “The reason American Airlines, Delta and United didn’t order the 747-8 or the A380 is because of this fragmented, fragmented traffic.”
Emirates has had success with its gigantic Airbus A380 thanks to its central hub structure and is expected to do similarly with its order for 205 777Xs. Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images
It’s unclear whether the other three major U.S. airlines will order the 777X. Neither American Airlines nor Delta have confirmed orders.
American Airlines recently ordered 260 new planes from Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer, but that doesn’t include any wide-body jets to complement its existing fleet of 787s and classic 777s. The airline is also currently upgrading the cabins of its 777s.
Delta retired its classic 777s during the pandemic and now operates a mix of 767s, older and newer A330 derivatives, and the Airbus A350, a competitor to the 777X.
Delta Air Lines bought the A350-900, which can accommodate more than 100 fewer passengers in two cabins than the 426-seat 777X, in 2014 as a replacement for larger wide-body aircraft including the Boeing 747-400.
Boeing 777X pending certification
There are high hopes for the future 777X, but Boeing is struggling to get it certified.
The jet is already at least five years late and $1 billion over budget, with certification testing halted in August due to structural problems.
In January, BI toured one of Boeing’s 777X test jets at the Wings airshow in India. Taylor Raines/Business Insider
“During routine maintenance, we discovered a component that was not functioning as designed,” Boeing previously told Business Insider. “Our teams are replacing the part, synthesizing what we learned from the part, and we plan to resume flight testing when we are ready.”
Qatar Airways and Emirates have previously said they expect their first 777X aircraft to be delivered in 2026.
Once the 777X is finally certified, airlines will be able to take advantage of innovative folding wingtips, and passengers can look forward to in-flight upgrades like a more spacious cabin and unique lighting that mimics a sunset or the Northern Lights.
