FAA Waives Emissions Rules for Additional 777F Sales
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Boeing a waiver to sell an additional 35 777F freighters beyond 2028, when new emissions rules take effect. The waiver allows Boeing to continue selling the planes for three more years due to strong customer demand and a delay in the certification of its next-generation replacement.
The 777F is currently the only large widebody freighter in production, and its next-generation replacement, the 777-8F, is not expected to enter service until approximately 2029. Without the waiver, Boeing would have faced a significant gap in freighter production, which could have cost more than $15 billion in U.S. exports.
The FAA cited 'flexibility and accommodating uncertainty' in the certification timeline of the replacement dedicated freighter airplane as the reason for granting the waiver. The agency also noted that the 35 additional planes could increase freighter operations by approximately 2% and raise fuel burn by about 8% relative to global freighter operations in 2024.