Boeing unveiled the new commercial jet 777-9 on Wednesday morning at its headquarters in Everett, United States, at an informal ceremony exclusively for its employees. .
The official rollout of the aircraft was scheduled for that day, but the manufacturer suspended the event following the crash with a 737 MAX 8 from Ethiopian Airlines in Nairobi, Ethiopia. This was the second crash involving the new Boeing aircraft in less than six months, which has already led to the shutdown of MAX series jets worldwide.
The images of the 777-9 with prefix N-779XW were posted on the internet were made by Boeing’s own employees who participated in the event.
What you can see in the images is the magnificence of the new 777X. The first version of the aircraft, the 777-9, is the largest and heaviest twin-engine commercial airplane ever built, 252 ft (77 meters) long and designed to carry up to 414 passengers and take off with a maximum weight of 351 tonnes.
Another highlight of the new generation of the 777 is the folding wing tips, a solution adopted by Boeing to facilitate the movement of the aircraft at airports without the need for adaptations. The wings of the 777-9 have a wingspan of 235 feet (71.8 meters) and 212 feet (64.8 m) with the tips gathered.
This was also the first time the 777X appeared equipped with the new General Electric GE9X turbofans. It is the largest jet engine developed for a plane, with 134 inches (3.4 meters) in diameter. This size is similar to the diameter of the fuselage of a Boeing 737.
Boeing already has 358 orders from eight customers for the new generation of the 777. The first operator will be the Lufthansa, which ordered 20 units of the 777-9. Other companies that will also fly with the 777X are Qatar Airways, Emirates Airline, ANA and British Airways.
The inaugural flight of the 777-9 is scheduled for this year and the first delivery to Lufthansa is scheduled for 2020. Boeing is also working on the development of the 777-8, designed to board up to 365 passengers and have autonomy above 8,700 nm (16,100 km). The premiere of the second model of the new series 777X is expected by mid-2021.
