A walk-up bar in the premium cabin stocked with snacks and refreshments will be a first for any U.S. airline and adds another distinctive luxury feature to the 777-300ER. Photo from American Airlines.
Today, American Airlines took delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER (aka 77W). They become the first airline in the US to take delivery of the highly successful and long range 300ER variant of the 777. At the time of posting, the aircraft has not taken off, but it is scheduled to head to Dallas/Forth Worth today (see FlightAware).
Normally when an airline takes delivery of a new aircraft, exterior photos are included with press releases, but not this time. Why? Because it is widely assumed that American will be showing off their new livery on their 77W and it is not completed yet.
This photo of American’s first 77W was taken by in October by James Hackney. The plane looked pretty much the same (without livery) at their delivery flight earlier today.
There is no public timeline when the 777 will see its livery, but I can assume it will happen before the end of January, since the airline plans to operate the aircraft from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sao Paulo starting on January 31, 2013.
BONUS: More photos of American’s first 777-300ER with semi-livery.
According to American’s press release: “American’s 777-300ER, delivered today without the traditional American livery, marks the beginning of the airline’s brand new fleet type and points toward the airline’s future.” The release also states, “The modern new aircraft will feature a freshly painted livery on the outside.” The big question is what will this livery look like? And when can we see it?
Every first class seat will feature individual 110-volt AC power outlets and USB jacks for charging personal electronic devices. Photo from American Airlines.
American’s 777-300ER is set up with three classes. Both Business and First have lie-flat seats. The plane will offer Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as a Panasonic entertainment system with 120 movies, 150 TV options and 350 audio selections available in all classes. Every seat will also include a 110-volt AC power and USB outlets.
BONUS: More interior photos of AA’s 77W.
“This marks an important milestone in our fleet renewal program and is another tangible example of our progress in building the new American for our customers and our people,” said Bella Goren, American’s chief financial officer. “This aircraft will provide our customers with a new level of comfort and convenience, along with delivering increased efficiency and better operating economics.”
The cabin is configured with three classes, featuring lie-flat seats in First and Business Class. Photo from American Airlines.
American is expecting to receive a second 777-300ERs in 2012 and the remaining eight in 2013. The airline plans to operate the new planes to London Heathrow, New York’s John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles after additional deliveries.
Even though there is a strong possibility that US Airways and American Airlines will merge in the future… this is not slowing American down. They are moving full steam ahead out of bankruptcy and it appears they hope to survive as their own airline.
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This story written by…David Parker Brown, Editor & Founder.David started AirlineReporter.com in the summer of 2008, but has had a passion for aviation since he was a kid. Born and raised in the Seattle area (where he is currently based) has surely had an influence and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the world. |
Looks great, David. Thanks. Does anyone know if AA has a paint hangar at DFW? If not, Google has “Leading Edge” as a company that could paint it in the DFW area. Cannot imagine they will have it painted outside of DFW and then fly it in for the “Unveiling”….. but I can be wrong. At least my wife tells me I am…… alot.
Pretty much in the most professional way possible, I am getting, “we could tell you, but then we would have to kill you.” They are keeping anything about this livery pretty well locked down. Front door and back door channels have not been successful. So, we might just have to wait.
American knows AR.com is VERY interested in this livery design and any news I get, I will be sharing. So stay tuned…
David
I wish you the best but frankly if it comes to international travel the last airline I would think of is a US based one. I am in Canada BTW and can fly from YYZ or BUF. In the last year I have flown SAA and CX in J lass and both were spectacularly good. Our last AA international flights were Costa Rica home and they were like any other US domestic flight – in other words mediocre to be kind.
You really need to up your game to get the likes of me and “nice” videos like this really won’t work.
BTW on long hauls I prefer A330/340 to 777 (no 787 or A380 yet) because thye are 2 seats on the windows side – much better for me if I fly solo or with my wife.
But I really do wish you the best of luck.
Martin
Every 777 I have flown on has two seats by thw window, not three.
No Comparison what so ever to a 777 to Airbus, 777 is far better.
Boeing Pilot once told me, Airbus is nearer to flying a Simulator than a Boeing. Computers, computers and more computers
some would say that was a good thing, I would not
Give me a 777 with Rolls Royce Engines any day of the week. I pick out flight schedules delibertly that use this aircraft
Well … the last second of the video shows a 763? all covered up (presumedly in the new colors) … and if US Air /AA merge … US has already stated that the AA name would survive (like UA/CO)
The covered up tail is actually a 738. You can tell by the way the tail is connected to the fuselage. Congrats to American to taking delivery of this fine beast and a new 738!
thanx … didn’t have time to really study the video
I like it David, it looks pretty sweet and I can”t wait till it”s revealed. It looks like a great airplane and I”m curious what the logo would look like, (will it be something new or standard)? I live in NJ by KEWR, so I may not see how it turns out when it”s revealed. Whether American merges or not, I think they will be just as great as they are now.
Overall, good job!
In reply to an earlier post, AA did not have a dedicated aircraft paint hangar. Aircraft were hand painted with rollers at the C check docks in Tulsa or Alliance/Ft. Worth, then polished with pneumatic hand held buffing wands. As other carriers have done durring a mass rebranding, I will assume a good portion of the painting will be outsourced. I am also assuming that maybe one dock in TULE will be used for aircraft paint. This is of course an educated guess.
I often fly the LAX-LHR route on AA and am quite please to see the 77W slated for this route. Now when I’m on my own nickel, I’ll be in Main Cabin Extra (if my EP) doesn’t get the me kicked to Biz. I really want to see pictures of the MCE seating. It is only 4 rows. So far none of the pictures from AA shows MCE. Would appreciate it if someone could get pictures and post.
Michael Mills – I was not comparing the technical features of Airbus vs Boeing.
I was primarily talking customer and inflight service and as a by the way mentioned how much more comfortable I found the 2 by the window prevalent on Airbus 330/340 vs the 777.
Re 777’s and 2 seats by the window – in economy. I googled “777 seat configuration” and almost all the 777’s have 3 by the window. E.g and in no particular order Eva,Emirates,AF,Gulf,AC,Vietnam,UA,Air India,Austrian,AA,BA,SIA,Thai,CO and diagrams listed as std configurations.
New livery:
http://www.aa.com/newamerican?v_locale=en_US&v_mobileUAFlag=AA