The Boeing 777 started as a way to fill a market gap and slowly evolved into Boeing’s latest flagship, the Boeing 777X. Why was the 777 built, how has it evolved, and what can expect from its future?
Why was the Boeing 777 built?
Back in 1978, Boeing had an impressive line-up. On the bottom end, Boeing had the narrowbody Boeing 737 (the defacto short-haul aircraft), the Boeing 757, the widebody Boeing 767, and the famous 747.
When ETOPS rules changed in the 80s to allow twinjet aircraft to cross oceans, airlines started to use the 767 in place of the 747 to fly to smaller destinations across the Atlantic (think New York to Barcelona instead of Madrid). The smaller passenger size made the aircraft cheaper to fill, and the twinjet economics made it cheaper to run.
However, this presented a problem. Now there was a gap in the market for an aircraft with more seats than the 767 and less than the 747 (a difference of around 100 seats). Airbus offered a competitive priced twinjet for the market, the A330 (and a more extended range A340 as well), and started to snap up customers. Boeing had to act, and bring something fast to market.
Thus December 8, 1989, Boeing started to offer the 777 to market.
Original designs
Boeing began by sitting down with airlines as part of the design effort; All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, United Airlines, and Qantas (the last would be the only airline to controversially never order the 777).
After the consultation, Boeing had a list for the perfect aircraft: A twinjet aircraft with 10% better economics than the Airbus A330 offering, capacity for precisely 325 seats, widebody like the 747, flexibility in cabin design and a glass fly-by-wire cockpit. Airlines would continue to invest in the design process, with Cathay Pacific insisting in a broader diameter, ANA asking for the plane to be longer and British Airways asking for a higher maximum take-off weight.
The airframe maker would use fancy new technologies called “computers” to design the plane. Initially, Boeing didn’t believe in the accuracy of the computer design, so they built a mockup nose section to test it. The mockup test “was completed with such precision that it was the first Boeing jet that didn’t need its kinks worked out on an expensive physical mockup plane”.
First-generation – The Classics
The Boeing 777-200 (called only the 777 back then) had a range of 5,240 nautical miles (9,700 km), with 305 passengers in a three-class configuration. Primary aimed at United States domestic carriers. It competed against the A330-300.
Boeing would build the Boeing 777-200 and deliver it to United Airlines in 1995. Then it turned its eyes to its international customers like British Airways. They requested a version that had a longer-range and could easily fly long trans-Atlantic routes. British Airways would fly the new 777-200ER (with an extended range of 7,065 nautical miles (13,080 km)) on February 9, 1997.
Following the success of the 777 and 777 extended range, Boeing looked at stretching the airframe to include an additional 60 seats (in a three-class layout). This stretch was of great interest to its Asian customers such as ANA and Cathay Pacific and would fly for the latter on May 27, 1998.
Second-generation – ultra-long-range
On February 29, 2000, Boeing moved forward with its plans for an updated 777 model. It would have more seats and a more extended range.
The first aircraft to come out of the redesign was the Boeing 777-300ER. It would combine the 777-300s seats with the range of the 777-200ER, something much sought after by Air France for its international routes. It would be delivered to that airline only four years later on April 29, 2004, which is an impressive turn around time.
Next, Boeing would look at extending the range of the 777-200ER for its Asian customers to reach Europe and thus create the Boeing 777-200LR. This aircraft set new records for aircraft range (although some have argued that the range of the 777-200LR is too long) at 8,555 nautical miles (15,843 km).
Boeing would also build a freighter version of the 777, using the fuselage of the new 777-200LR combined with the bigger fuel tanks of the 777-300ER – perfect for heavy cargo. This would enter the market in 2008.
Third-generation – 777x programs
The Boeing 777 program by the late 2000s had been incredibly successful and had even overtaken the Boeing 747 in sales. Alas, composite fuselages, and fuel-saving technologies started to change the aviation game and resulted in Boeing facing two district competitions.
- External pressure from the new Airbus A350 series – a twinjet successor to the A340 program.
- Internal pressure from the smaller Boeing 787 series – airlines preferred to deploy it over the 777 despite having fewer seats.
Thus Boeing needed to update the 777 once again to meet customers’ expectations and preserve its competitive edge. It would have an improved cabin, bigger engines and be the new flagship from Boeing.
Boeing has offered two versions of the 777X to airlines (and private individuals), the 777-8 and 777-9:
- The 777-8 can seat 384 passengers in two classes and fly to a range of 8,730 nautical miles (16,170 km).
- The 777-9 can seat 426 in two classes and fly to a range of 7,285 nautical miles (13,500 km).
In November 2013, Boeing officially launched the 777X program and received countless orders from airlines around the world (but still none from Qantas). So far, only four 777X aircraft have been built, and due to current market forces, it is unlikely that Boeing will deliver the aircraft until at least 2022.
According to the Boeing lists prices on its website in 2019, in the 777 programs, you can only buy the 777-200ER, -200LR, 777F, -300ER, 777-8, and 777-9 variants. This makes the -200ER is the only Classic variant remaining available.
The Boeing 777 has gone through many different improvements and evolution throughout its life. As it fits the market perfectly, it is likely to remain a popular aircraft well into the next 50 years.
What do you think? Do you like the Boeing 777? Let us know in the comments.
