Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Long-range commercial airliner

Power Plant:

Two 84,000 lbst Rolls Royce Trent 892 turbofans

Specifications:

History:

Following the success of the Boeing 777-200 series, Boeing introduced the Model 777-200ER in 1997, and this was followed by the stretched Model 777-300, which was 10.1 m (33 ft 3 in) longer than the 777-200 series. In 2004 the 777-300ER was introduced, and the 777F freighter entered service in 2009.

The type was fitted with a variety of engines from General Electric, with the GE-90 series, the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 and the Rolls Royce Trent 800 series. The Boeing 777 continued in production with the 777-200 and 777-300 series, the latter having a length of 73.8 m (242 ft 4 in). The Model 777-300ER had a strengthened fuselage, wings, empennage and engine attachments, the standard engine fitted being the General Electric GE-90-115B turbofan of 115,300 lbst, giving it a max range of 14,685 km (miles).

In 1997 the first Model 777-300 was rolled out on 8 September, one of the initial customers for this model being Cathay Pacific Airways, with an order for 31 aircraft, followed by All Nippon Airways, Korean Airlines and Thai Airways International. The first flight was made on 16 October 1997. By December 1997, two months after its first flight, the Boeing 777-300 had received further orders from Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. It was awarded type certification on 4 May 1998.

Many airlines operating the early variants of the Boeing 747 looked to the new Boeing 777 series, many of the Boeing 747-200 series being converted to freighters. The Model 777-300 has two plugs inserted in the fuselage, one of 5.3 m (17 ft 4 in) and the other of 4.8 m (15 ft 7 in) in length. Further variants were proposed, including the Model 777-300X long-range design study with a range of 11,850 km (7,363 miles) and a gross weight of 324,320 kg (715,000 lb).

In early 2007 Virgin Blue in Australia announced it was to enter the long-haul market by ordering seven Boeing 777-300ERs with options on a further six, that it would be expanding and setting up a new airline to operate the aircraft, proposing to commence operations in late 2008, the company purchasing six aircraft and leasing one from ILFS. The first aircraft, a Model 777-3ZGER, became VH-VPE (c/n 37939 – ‘Noosa Heads’) and was delivered on 8 April 2009.

The other Virgin aircraft, all Model 777-3ZGERs, were VH-VOZ (c/n 35302 – ‘Palm Beach’) delivered on 9 February 2009; VH-VPD (c/n 37938 – ‘Avalon Beach’) delivered on 20 February 2009; VH-VPF (c/n 37940 – ‘Caves Beach’) delivered on 9 October 2009; and VH-VPH (c/n 37943 – ‘St Kilda Beach’) delivered on 24 November 2010.

Air New Zealand also ordered the Model 777-319ER to replace its ageing Boeing 747s, the first aircraft being handed over at Paine Field, Everett, Washington on 22 December 2010 ZK-OKM (c/n 38405), arriving in Auckland on Christmas Eve to join the airline’s fleet of eight Model 777-200ERs. The Model 777-319ER entered service in April 2011 and operated between Auckland and Los Angeles, and Auckland and London, UK, the five aircraft being delivered by the end of 2011. The 777-300 series seated 365 passengers in three classes, 451 in two classes, and a maximum of 550.

The fleet of six Model 777-319ERs operated by Air New Zealand, included ZK-OKM above, ZK-OKN (c/n 38406), ZK-OKO (c/n 38407), ZK-OKP (c/n 39401), ZK-OKR (c/n 44546) and ZK-OKS (c/n 44547).

In mid-2018 Air New Zealand leased a Model 777-35ER from Eva Air to fill a gap in its operations due to problems arising with the engines of its Boeing 787s, this aircraft becoming ZK-OKT (c/n 32644 – ex B-16717) for the period of the lease.