Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) is disappointed about the latest B777X delivery delays, Bloomberg reports this week. Until recently, the airline was banking on the first of its twenty-one B777-9s on order arriving in 2025. However, in the latest of many delays, Boeing has said that no airlines will see deliveries before 2026.
“We want all our aircraft, and we’d like them to be delivered at the time that they’re promised,” the carrier's chief operations and service delivery officer, Alex McGowan, told the outlet. "When they’re not, that’s a disappointment to us."
Deliveries of the first B777X are now running around five years behind the original schedule. In August, Boeing grounded its B777-9 test fleet over structural issues. Citing that event, industrial action, and challenges faced in development, the manufacturer told customers earlier this month not to expect any B777-9s before 2026 and no B777-8Fs before 2028.
McGowan made his comments at a joint Cathay-Airbus event in Hong Kong, marking recent signings with that manufacturer. Cathay intends to spend more than HKD100 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD12.9 billion) over the next seven years, much of it earmarked for aircraft payments.
According to ch-aviation fleets data, aside from the B777-9s, Cathay Pacific's firm orderbook includes fifteen A321-200Ns, four A321-200NX, thirty A330-900N, and six A350Fs. In addition, the group's low-cost carrier, HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International), has eight A320-200Ns, nine A321-200Ns, and eight A321-200NX on order. Cathay Pacific Group also has unexercised options for another 80 aircraft.
