After distancing itself from Boeing by ordering 33 Airbus A350 widebodies, Korean Air would be close to an order for 10 777X, sources told Reuters.
South Korea’s largest carrier, the company was a loyal Boeing customer, but earlier this year announced a large order for the 777X rival, including 27 A350-1000s and six A350-900s.
The agreement was seen as a defeat for the US planemaker, which is dealing with numerous problems in its assembly lines and also in aircraft certification.
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The 777X, a new family of widebodies with greater passenger capacity and range, was launched by Boeing last decade and was expected to enter service in 2021.
Boeing is now working with the expectation of putting it into operation in 2025, but this depends on how the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) will view the certification process after the company goes through embarrassing situations in its factories.
Potential customer
Korean Air would be a potential customer for the 777X as it flies the four-engine 747-8 and 777, of which it has 37 aircraft.
Despite this, the airline also has a good relationship with Airbus, which supplies A220, A321neo, A330 and A380 jets.
To Reuters, Korean Air and Boeing declined to comment. The 777X has 538 gross orders, according to the company.
