Some good news for Boeing—the 777-9X made its first flight over the weekend. The flight was postponed a day by bad weather, took off from Paine Field, north of Seattle, and completed a three-hour-plus successful initial flight. This begins the process of being certified for commercial flight.
Craig Bomden, one of the two pilots and Boeing’s VP of Flight Operations said to see the “outstanding performance of the plane, it made us extremely proud. We're going to be very proud of this airplane in service."
The 777-9X is the world's longest and largest twin-engine airliner, designed to carry up to 425 passengers over distances of 7,600 nautical miles.
With aircraft like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft gradually being taken out of service, the 777-9X will offer the greatest passenger capacity available to airlines. The exceptionally efficient engines designed for the aircraft will increase revenue per passenger mile over existing long-range airliners.
With a total wingspan of 233 feet, Boeing designed folding 11-feet long wingtips wings to allow the aircraft to fit in the standard commercial airport gate.
At a list price of approximately $440 million (although discounts are likely), Boeing reports 308 firm orders and some 300 options. They expect to deliver the first aircraft to launch customer Lufthansa in 2021. Additional customers include Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and ANA.