New York (AFP)

After many months of delay, Boeing has scheduled for Thursday the inaugural flight of the long-haul 777X, replacing the emblematic 777, while at the same time seeking to raise at least ten billion dollars to meet the rampant bill of the crisis. 737 MAX.

The flight will take place in the Seattle region in the northwest of the United States, where Boeing has a giant airport, Boeing Field, sources familiar with the matter told AFP on Tuesday.

The date may still change depending on the weather, they added. The maiden flight of the 777X was originally scheduled for summer 2019, but had to be postponed due to problems with the new GE9X engine, manufactured by General Electric, and difficulties with the wings and software validation.

"We are aware that the flight will take place soon," said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), the air regulator in the United States, whose agents are expected to attend. flight.

If all goes well, Boeing will then file, in the coming months, all the documents for the approval of this aircraft by the civil aviation authorities, in particular with the FAA, for the entry into service of this aircraft. in 2021.

- Resist Airbus -

The first deliveries are not expected before "the beginning of 2021", instead of mid-2020 as initially planned, because the period of test flights should be extended and the approval procedure deepened.

The 777X is supposed to consolidate Boeing's dominance over Airbus in the long haul, a position weakened by the imminent reduction in production rates for the 787 "Dreamliner", due to the lack of firm orders from China.

The 777X, which can carry 384 to 426 passengers, has an order book of 340 units, mainly from seven major airlines, including Emirates, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways. It is supposed to compete with the A350 of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Contacted by AFP, Boeing, which is stuck in the crisis of the 737 MAX, plane grounded for more than ten months following two accidents, did not wish to comment.

- MAX costs -

The aircraft manufacturer is in talks with big names on Wall Street to borrow at least ten billion dollars to meet the costs associated with the MAX, bank sources told AFP.

Boeing has so far obtained assurances of receiving a $ 6 billion line of credit from banks, one source said, without saying whether the borrowing would be through the issuance of new bonds.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are among the banks that have already promised funds to the aircraft manufacturer.

The bill so far stands at more than $ 9.2 billion, but analysts expect it to fly away. The shortfall is about $ 1 billion per month since immobilization, calculate analysts of JPMorgan.

The rating agency Moody's recently threatened to downgrade the group's financial strength rating.

A Lion Air 737 MAX crashed on October 29, 2018, killing 189 people, an accident followed five months later by the crash of a copy of Ethiopian Airlines (157 dead).

The MCAS anti-stall system has been questioned and Boeing is currently working on a corrective measure to obtain the lifting of the flight ban. But since then, other problems have been detected. The latest, unveiled on Friday, concerns software supposed to ensure the proper functioning of the MCAS when the aircraft starts.

Uncertainties therefore surround the date of return to service of the MAX. American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest, three customer companies, have already postponed flights on this aircraft to June.

Boeing suspended deliveries and also interrupted production of the MAX, which led it to present an order book in red in 2019 (-87 net aircraft), a first in more than a decade.

In addition to the lack of revenue, Boeing must compensate client airlines and its suppliers.

The Seattle giant also faces complaints from the families of the victims and investigations by American authorities, among others.

© 2020 AFP