FILE PHOTO: A Plane Boeing 777X performs during the Dubai Airshow, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/ File Photo

By Deborah Mary Sophia and Dan Catchpole

(Reuters) -Delivery of Boeing's 777X jet is being pushed back to early 2027, instead of next year, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the launch customer for Boeing's newest widebody aircraft, is already preparing for a setback and not including the 777X in its fleet plans until 2027, the report said, citing one of the sources.

Boeing declined to comment.

Several Wall Street analysts expect Boeing to announce a charge related to the delay ranging from $1 billion to $4 billion in its third-quarter earnings report later this month.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said last month that the company was behind schedule in certifying the jet, saying a "mountain of work" needed to be done. He added, however, that no new technical problems had been identified and did not indicate a new delay to first delivery.

The company was expected to deliver the first 777X jet in 2026, already six years later than had been anticipated when the program was launched in 2013. The planemaker has already taken more than $10 billion in charges on the program.

Investment analysts lowered their free cash flow projections for 2026 after Ortberg acknowledged new certification difficulties.

RBC Capital Markets aerospace analyst Ken Herbert told investors on Sunday that he expects 777X deliveries to start in the second half of 2027.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Alan Barona and Deepa Babington)