Boeing has pushed deliveries of its 777X jet until 2027 amid certification delays, the company reported last week.

CEO Kelly Ortberg said the first delivery of Boeing’s next generation of long-haul, wide-body jets is now expected in 2027 instead of 2026, resulting in a $4.9 billion charge in the quarter through September. Yet Ortberg emphasized in a call with analysts that the delays stemmed from the certification process, and not from any newly discovered technical issues.

“While we are disappointed in the 777 delays, it shouldn’t overshadow the progress we’re making,” he said.

Ortberg said Boeing was making progress on stabilizing its production. The aerospace giant delivered 160 planes in the third quarter, the most quarterly deliveries since 2018. The same time last year, Boeing said it delivered 116 planes.

Boeing also reported that its backlog of orders had grown to $636 billion in the third quarter. The growing backlog includes 5,900 commercial planes, with big 777X orders from Qatar Airways, which is waiting on 124 jets, and Dubai-based Emirates, which has ordered 205 of them.

“There’s strong demand in our products,” Ortberg said in an interview with CNBC.

Boeing says the 777X “will be the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet,” with a larger cabin and better fuel efficiency.

In September, the Federal Aviation Administration restored Boeing’s ability to perform final safety checks and certify 737 Max jets for flight more than six years after two crashes of the then-new aircraft killed 346 people.

That decision was followed by the FAA’s move last month to raise Boeing’s 737 Max production limit that it had set in January 2024, after a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines jet. Boeing now is allowed to build 42 Max jets per month, up from 38, and Ortberg said the company expects to raise that cap further once it demonstrates to the FAA that it can do so safely.