Am curious why you think the 777x may not ever be approved? I appreciate the FAA etc will be crawling all over it after the MAX fiasco but the 777x is only the 3rd generation of the family (if you consider the 772/773 the first gen, the LR and ER the second gen).
Are there some major issues holding up certification at the moment as it is taking an extraordinarily and unprecedented long time from first flight to certification for EIS?
Here is a public article talking about the huge safety issues the 777X experienced during tests:
https://www.reuters.com/business/aer...er-2022-12-22/ as well as the "serious unexplained pitch event" during testing
https://www.seattletimes.com/busines...certification/.
Boeing promised that certification was closer to happen in Q4 2023, but so far no sign at all from the regulator. Apparently (this is rumours at this point) Boeing mixed data about the standard 777 with the tests from the 777X and the regulator found out, they required much more flying hours and tests as they have grown very suspicious. I do not think this aircraft will be approved before 2025 at the earliest (even the FAA said that Boeing's timeline was unrealistic and only driven by sales). I think the first deliveries are going to happen in 2027.
You can be sure that even if the 777X gets approved, there is no way I am flying in one.