Oct 29 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) reported a charge of

nearly $5 billion related to delays in its 777X jet program on

Wednesday.

Despite progress on the 737 MAX, the planemaker continues to

face setbacks with its 777X program. It said the first delivery

of the 777X have been pushed to early 2027, delaying the

timeline further from the previously expected 2026 launch.

The aircraft was originally slated for delivery in 2020 when

the program was launched in 2013.

Last month, CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company was behind

schedule in certifying the jet, saying a "mountain of work"

needed to be done. He, however, said no new technical problems

had been identified and did not indicate a new delay to the

first delivery.

After years of grappling with quality issues and production

delays on its flagship 737 MAX, Boeing ( BA ) cautiously ramped up

monthly output in 2025.

Earlier this month, the company received the long-awaited

approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to

increase 737 MAX production to 42 jets per month, easing a cap

of 38 that had been in place since January 2024.

That cap was imposed following a mid-air panel blowout on a

nearly new aircraft.

Boeing ( BA ) delivered 55 jets in September, marking its strongest

performance for that month since 2018. This was a significant

jump from the 33 deliveries recorded a year earlier, when a

strike involving 33,000 factory workers in the Pacific Northwest

disrupted production.

For the first nine months of this year, Boeing ( BA ) has delivered

440 aircraft, up from 291 during the same period of 2024.

Deliveries are closely watched by Wall Street, as

planemakers typically receive the bulk of their payments upon

handing over the jets to customers, making deliveries a key

indicator of revenue and cash flow.