Critical Decision Slow 777X Progress

Qantas had been on the cusp of announcing its Project Sunrise winner and the lean was towards a Boeing product. But the 737 Max has choked Boeing into re-prioritizing its ventures and hence the 777X is at a crawl back in the shop. Boeing will fix the Max in 2020 and it will fly the 777X in 2020 but the 797 has become only a Boeing dream since the Max has been its market loss in service and it will take a "successful venture" to change this perspective.

There you have it, Boeing has flummoxed itself by lining its pocket with money before making a complete product. It forgot its main function as an aircraft builder. Build it right for the customer and the money will follow. Don't follow the money when building an airplane! Boeing will become viable as a major airplane maker when its commercial widebody division succeeds and by not waiting for the single-aisle to fix itself in the meantime.

The 737 Max is not dead but it needs a resurrection. Boeing may as well go ahead and build a clean sheet single-aisle as it has lost the market single-aisle parity. Shoot for 2028 for entry into service for a Max killer to dominate the single-aisle segment. This would include a long-range two hundred seats configured A321 killer. Boeing has already thought this through but it may have trouble convincing its stockholders on a 2028 single-aisle build risk but Boeing has put itself into a precarious defensive position and it will fight rather than delay indefinitely while fixing its problems.