After a series of technical and weather delays, Boeing’s 777X finally took off for its inaugural flight at 10:09 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020
Things in the world of Boeing haven’t been going so great lately and the company needed a win. A few weeks ago, on a cloudy Saturday, there was finally something for the airplane manufacturer to cheer about: The Boeing 777-9 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on its inaugural test flight. Once airborne, one of the two pilots reported, ’œAll flight controls are good. Very solid.’ A crowd of two hundred or so stood in awe as the big bird took off, then erupted in applause, high-fives, and hugs. For many, the excitement might have been as much about the new aircraft as it was for the company itself.
Boeing’s 777X taxies out on Friday, Jan. 24, for what would be five hours on the taxiway before the attempt was scrubbed due to poor weather
’œThis major milestone for the #777X airplane program begins the next critical phase of testing as we work towards certification and then delivery to customers in 2021,’ Boeing tweeted after takeoff. And thus began what is hopefully a more positive direction for the Chicago-based company.
During the recent ITB exhibition in Berlin, Emirates revealed its new Boeing 777 business class product – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter
During the recent ITB travel exhibition in Berlin, Emirates revealed its new business class seat which will become standard on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft delivered from November 2016. This includes the future Boeing 777X, when it eventually enters into service. I was fortunate enough to take a look at this new business class seat from Emirates and develop an opinion on it.
As predicted, Emirates has chosen to maintain its 2-3-2 layout with the new business class – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter
Prior to the official reveal of the new seat, there was much talk in the industry about this new product for the 777. While Emirates remained reasonably tight-lipped, it did reveal that the new product would remain in the existing 2-3-2 layout. My initial impression of the seat was that, despite being on the slightly narrow side, the legroom is vastly increased, as is the size of the IFE screen, which is one of the biggest I have seen in business class.
Two U.S. pilots stepping off the first 787-9 at Boeing Field – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
With the Emirates Milan saga, where US & Italian airlines are backing a play to force the Gulf carrier off the Fifth Freedom New York route, it led me to look into similar instances that have happened over the last few months that perhaps lead to a deeper situation.
It seems that US-based airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) are trying their hand at stopping outsider airlines from getting to the United States rather than just expanding themselves.
Let’s take a closer look.
There is meaning behind the color for the 777X – Image: Boeing
With all the excitement of the new Boeing 777X orders announced at the Dubai Airshow, one might have missed the fact that the aircraft is showing off a new color for the Boeing livery. Is it red? Maroon? No, it is a very rich burgundy.
To date, we have seen a rainbow of colors showing up on new Boeing aircraft and the choice of burgundy is no accident.
I had the opportunity to speak with Rob Pollack, vice president Advertising, Brand and Market Positioning with Boeing to try answer why burgundy was to become the official color for the 777X.
Just-launched Boeing 777-8X & 777-9X, ordered in record numbers at the Dubai Airshow – Image: Boeing
The first day of the 2013 Dubai Airshow kicked off with a bang. As we slept, Boeing racked up 225 new orders for their newly-launched 777X program. With the existing 34 orders from Lufthansa, the official launch of the plane comes with huge order support from customers. “We are proud to partner with each of these esteemed airlines to launch the 777X ’“ the largest and most-efficient twin-engine jetliner in the world,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “Its ground-breaking engine technologies and all-new composite wing will deliver unsurpassed value and growth potential to our customers.”
Night-time rendering of Boeing 777-9X – Image: Boeing
The 777X program wasn’t the only Day One winner for Boeing, however. Etihad also booked orders for 30 787-10s, which brings their total Dreamliner orders up to 71 – making them the largest airline customer for the 787 and pushing the program over 1,000 orders. Mideast short-haul carrier flydubai also made an order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX8 birds.
