Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the first flight with paying passengers on a Boeing 777. Since then it has gone to become possibly the most commercially successful twin-aisle airplane program.
That first flight on June 7, 1995, was by a 777-200, the first variant of the Boeing 777 model to enter into service. Boeing also made the 777-300, as well as extended range (or ER) versions of both variants and a 777-200LR (long range), and a 777 freighter.
So, why didn’t Boeing make a 777-100?
There actually is a 777-100, but it was only a conceptual design and the only thing it shares with the 777 family is its name.
In the late 1970s, Boeing explored a large tri-jet which it called the 777-100. But it shelved the project. Instead, it introduced two twin-jet airplanes: the single-aisle 757 and the twin-aisle 767.
A decade later when it began thinking about a new twin-engine, twin-aisle airliner it dubbed the project the 767-X. By the time United Airlines placed the first order for the new airplane on Oct. 15, 1990, the airplane was being called the 777.
Even though the earlier tri-jet never flew, Boeing launched the 777 family with the 777-200, rather than a -100 variant.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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