Boeing 777F production idle for two months: Reuters

Boeing has not built any 777 freighters for nearly two months because of a dispute with Vaero, a small supplier based in Florida. The dispute has also disrupted 767 output, including freighters and KC-46 aerial refuelling tankers. Reuters reported this in an exclusive on October 23, citing Boeing workers and court filings.

The dispute is over the trailing-edge rib kit, a wing component. In a complaint filed in August, Boeing said Vaero had stopped delivering the kits, which stalled work at its wing-production facility in Everett, Washington. Boeing called the part “indispensable” and said Vaero was its only source for it. The complaint put the cost of the disruption at up to $6.5 million a day.

Legal news site Law.com first reported the lawsuit in August. According to its reporting, Boeing alleged that without the kits it could not complete the fixed trailing edge of a 777 wing or join the wing to the fuselage. Boeing sought an injunction to force deliveries, along with damages.

The two companies settled in late September. However, three Boeing workers told Reuters that 777F production had still not restarted. One worker said the 767 line had received some parts since the settlement.

Without the Vaero parts, Boeing pulled two partly assembled 777 Freighters off its final assembly line, according to Reuters. Using data from aviation consultancy IBA, the agency identified one of them as bound for FedEx. Two workers said some freighters whose wings were assembled before the dispute could still be delivered by the end of the year.

Reuters reported that Boeing is now trying to make the rib kits in-house. The part is used in wing assembly for the 767 and the current-generation 777 Freighter. The 777X, which has composite wings, is not affected.

Boeing has delivered 21 777 Freighters so far this year, according to company data cited by Reuters. Boeing delivered 35 in 2025.

Backlog and the bridge to the 777-8F
The stoppage hits an aircraft that customers are still ordering. Boeing’s latest orders and deliveries data show the 777F backlog held at 38 at the end of September. Two deliveries that month, one each to Air China Cargo and FedEx, were offset by a new order for two aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines Cargo. Boeing has booked six 777F orders so far in 2026, from China Airlines, China Southern Cargo and Ethiopian.

FedEx has the largest share of the backlog with seven aircraft. Saudia has four, Emirates three, and China Airlines, China Southern Cargo, Silk Way West Airlines and Ethiopian two each. Six aircraft remain listed against Volga-Dnepr UK, which is in administration, and 10 are with unidentified customers.

The 777F is also Boeing’s bridge to the 777-8F, which is not yet certified. Boeing is targeting entry into service in 2029, though some customers expect 2030. Under emissions rules based on ICAO standards, the GE90-powered 777F would have gone out of production at the end of 2027. Citing the 777-8F delays, Boeing won an exemption from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The exemption allows up to 35 more 777Fs to be certified between 1 January 2028 and the end of 2030.

The disruption shows how fragile aerospace supply chains remain. A dispute with one small supplier has been enough to stop production of an aircraft that cargo operators are still in strong demand for.