Design effort

The Boeing 777 design phase was different from the company's previous commercial jetliners. For the first time, eight major airlines, namely All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and United Airlines, had a role in the development of the airliner. This was a departure from industry practice, where manufacturers typically designed aircraft with little airline input. The eight airlines that contributed to the 777 design process became known within Boeing as the "Working Together" group. At the first group meeting in January 1990, a 23-page questionnaire was distributed to the airlines, asking each what it wanted in the new design. By March 1990, Boeing and the airlines had decided upon a basic design for the 777: a cabin cross-section close to the 747's, capacity up to 325 passengers, fly-by-wire controls, aglass cockpit, flexible interior, and 10% better seat-mile costs than the A330 and MD-11.

In October 1990, United Airlines became the Boeing 777's launch customer when it placed an order for 34 Pratt & Whitney-powered 777s with optionson a further 34. The development of the 777 coincided with United's replacement program for its aging DC-10s. United required that the new aircraft be capable of flying three different routes: Chicago to Hawaii, Chicago to Europe, and non-stop from Denver, a hot and high airport, to Hawaii. ETOPS certification was also a priority for United, given the overseas portion of United's Hawaii routes.

By January 1993, Boeing had formally designated its new airliner as the 777, and a team of United 777 developers joined other airline teams and Boeing designers at the Boeing Everett factory in Washington. Divided into 240 design teams of up to 40 members, working on individual components of the aircraft, almost 1,500 design issues were addressed. The fuselage diameter was further increased to suit Cathay Pacific, the baseline model grew longer for All Nippon Airways, and British Airways' input led to added built-in testing and interior flexibility.

The Boeing 777 was the first commercial aircraft to be designed entirely on computer. All design drawings were created on a 3D CAD software system known as CATIA, sourced fromDassault Systemes and IBM. This allowed a virtual 777 to be assembled, in simulation, to check for interferences and to verify proper fit of the many thousands of parts, thus reducing costly rework Boeing was initially not convinced of the program's abilities and built a physical mock-up of the nose section to verify the results. The test was so successful that all further mock-ups were canceled.

Production and testing

The production process for the Boeing 777 included substantial international content, with an unprecedented level of global subcontracting for a Boeing jetliner, exceeded only by the later 787. International contributors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (fuselage panels), Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (center wing section), Hawker de Havilland (elevators), and Aerospace Technologies of Australia (rudder). An agreement between Boeing and the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, representing Japanese aerospace contractors, made the latter risk-sharing partners for 20% of the entire 777 program’ The 777 was launched with propulsion options from three manufacturers, Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, and Rolls-Royce giving the airlines their choice of engines from competing firms

Boeing selected its Everett factory, home of 747 production, as the site of 777 final assembly. To accommodate production of its new twinjet, Boeing doubled the size of the Everett factory at the cost of nearly US$1.5 billion to provide room for the addition of two new 777 assembly lines Among new production methodologies developed for the 777, Boeing developed a turn machine which could rotate fuselage subassemblies 180 degrees, allowing workers access to 777 upper body sections. Production of the first 777 prototype began in January 1993. By the start of 777 production, the program had amassed 118 firm orders, with options for 95 more from ten airlines. Total investment in the 777 program was estimated at over US$4 billion from Boeing, with an additional US$2 billion from suppliers.

On April 9, 1994, the first Boeing 777, line number WA001, was rolled out in a series of fifteen ceremonies held during the day to accommodate the 100,000 invited guests. The first flight took place on June 12, 1994, piloted by 777 Chief Test Pilot John E. Cashman. This marked the start of an eleven month flight test program which was intended to be more extensive than that of any previous Boeing model. Nine aircraft in total were used in 777 flight testing, five powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, two by General Electric GE90 engines, and two by Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. Testing locations included the desert airfield at Edwards Air Force Base in California and frigid conditions in Alaska.^[45] To satisfy ETOPS requirements, eight 180-minute single-engine diversion test flights were performed. The first 777-200 built was used by Boeing's nondestructive testing campaign in 1994–1995, and provided data for the -200ER and -300 programs. At the successful conclusion of flight testing, the 777 was awarded simultaneous airworthiness certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on April 19, 1995.

Entry into service

On May 15, 1995, Boeing delivered the first 777, registered N777UA, to United Airlines. The FAA awarded 180-minute ETOPS clearance ("ETOPS-180") for Pratt & Whitney PW4084 engined 777-200s on May 30, 1995, making the 777 the first aircraft to carry an ETOPS-180 rating at its entry into service. Longer ETOPS clearance of 207 minutes was approved later. The Boeing 777's first commercial flight took place on June 7, 1995, from London's Heathrow Airport to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C..

In November 1995, Boeing delivered the first 777 with General Electric GE90-77B engines to launch customer British Airways, which subsequently placed the aircraft into service later that month. Initial service with the engine was affected by gearbox bearing wear issues, which caused British Airways to temporarily withdraw its GE90-77B engined aircraft from transatlantic service in 1997. British Airways' GE90-77B-engined 777s returned to full service later that year and engine manufacturer General Electric subsequently announced upgraded GE90 versions.

The first Rolls-Royce Trent 877 powered Boeing 777 was delivered to Thai Airways International in March 1996, completing the entry of all three 777 powerplants into service. All three 777 engine-airframe combinations had secured ETOPS-180 certification from the point of entry into service. By June 1997, total orders for the 777 numbered 323 from 25 customers, including satisfied launch customers which had ordered additional aircraft. Performance data from 777 operations established the consistent capabilities of the twin-engine airliner over long-haul transoceanic routes, leading to further sales. By 1998, dispatch reliability rates (measuring takeoff without delay) for the Boeing 777 had reached 99.96% as 777 operations grew, and total fleet hours approached 900,000.

Further developments

After the initial 777-200 model, Boeing developed the 777-200ER, an increased gross weight variant, which first flew on October 7, 1996. The 777-200ER received FAA and JAA certification on January 17, 1997, and entered service with British Airways in February 1997. Offering greater range and payload capability, the 777-200ER subsequently became the most popular version of the 777 in service. On April 2, 1997, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER dubbed "Super Ranger" broke the great circle "distance without landing" record for an airliner by flying eastward from Boeing Field, Seattle, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 km), in 21 hours, 23 minutes.

Following the introduction of the 777-200ER, Boeing turned its attention to a stretched variant of the 777. On October 16, 1997, the first 777-300 made its first flight.^[41] At 242.4 ft (73.9 m) in length, the 777-300 became the longest airliner yet produced (until the A340-600), and had a 20% greater overall capacity than the standard 777-200. On May 4, 1998, the 777-300 was awarded type certification simultaneously from the FAA and JAA, and granted 180-minute ETOPS approval. The 777-300 entered service with launch customer Cathay Pacific later that month.

By the late 1990s, Boeing was considering ultra-long-range versions of the 777-200 and 777-300. A more powerful engine was required, leading to active discussions between Boeing and the 777 engine manufacturers. General Electric offered to develop the GE90-115B engine, with a projected thrust of 115,000 lbf (510 kN), while Rolls-Royce proposed developing the Trent 8104 engine, with a thrust of 104,000 to 114,000 lbf (460 to 510 kN). In 1999, Boeing announced an agreement with General Electric, beating out proposals from Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney As part of the deal with General Electric, Boeing agreed that GE90 engines would be the only engines offered on new long-range 777 models.

Next-generation 777s

In February 2000, Boeing began issuing offers to airlines on its next-generation long-range 777 program, initially called 777-X. Development of the next-generation 777s was slowed by the airline industry downturn, which lasted through the early 2000s The first model to emerge from the 777-X program, the 777-300ER, was launched with an order for ten aircraft from Air France along with additional undisclosed orders. The first flight of the 777-300ER occurred on February 24, 2003, and FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA, successor to the JAA) certification was achieved on March 16, 2004. The first delivery to Air France took place on April 29, 2004. The 777-300ER, which combined the -300's added capacity with the -200ER's range, became the top-selling 777 variant, with orders benefiting as airlines replaced comparable four-engine models with twinjets because of their lower operating costs.

The second model to originate from the 777-X program, the 777-200LR, rolled out on February 15, 2005, and completed its first flight on March 8, 2005. The -200LR was certified by both the FAA and EASA on February 2, 2006, and the first delivery to Pakistan International Airlines occurred on February 26, 2006. On November 10, 2005, the first 777-200LR set a record for the longest non-stop flight by a passenger airliner by flying 11,664 nautical miles (21,602 km) eastward (the westerly great circle route is only 5,209 nautical miles) from Hong Kong to London. The flight took 22 hours and 42 minutes, with airline representatives and media guests on board. The event was logged into the Guinness World Records and surpassed the 777-200LR's design range of 9,380 nautical miles (17,370 km).

By 2007, sales of the next generation 777 family, composed of the 777-200LR and 777-300ER, approached 350 aircraft. In November 2007, Boeing announced that all 777 production was sold out to 2012 In May 2008, Boeing introduced the first 777 Freighter, the 777F, based on the structural upgrades and engine specifications of the 777-200LR, with fuel tanks derived from the 777-300ER.

By 2008, the 777 faced the possibility of increased competition from Airbus' planned A350 XWB and internally from proposed variants of the 787 both airliners that promise further fuel efficiency improvements. According to industry reports, the current 777 may eventually be replaced by a new product family, the Boeing Yellowstone 3, which would draw upon technologies from the 787.