Beleaguered Boeing is working on delivery of its next generation 777, the Boeing 777X, for a range of Middle East customers. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have all placed orders for the Boeing 777-8 and 777-9. But what are these customers getting and for how much?
The history of the 777
The twin-engine widebodied Boeing 777 first appeared in 1995 as a successor to pioneering widebody from 1970, the 747. Why did it take 25 years to grow the 777? Because so-called “ETOPS” safety regulations (Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards) meant that twin-engine widebodies were only allowed to fly a maximum of 60 minutes away from an airport that could land them. This made them an unviable project to sell to airlines looking for craft that could fly longer routes.
As a result, despite the gradual changing of ETOPS rules and the launch of the twin-engine widebody Airbus A300 in May 1974 with Air France, response plans for three new Boeing twin-engine widebodies: the 757, 767, and the 777, never really came to fruition. Boeing ultimately decided to rely on its 747.
But, as larger competitors like the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar started to reach the end of their commercial working lives, “Boeing again became interested in building the 777,” Simple Flying notes, adding that the manufacturer toyed with its old 767 designs but “decided to go with a clean sheet design and build the type of plane the airlines were asking for.”
Enter the 777, in June 1995, just a month after the ETOPS rules were extended to allow twin engine widebodies to stray 180 minutes from a landable airport. After customer input from a vast array of carriers, the 777 was launched with an $11 billion order from United for 34 planes, with an option on 34 more, and a first flight from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington, DC. The 777 quickly became the world’s “long-haul workhorse”, according to Simple Flying.
Cost
These days, a 777 will set private buyers back between $306.6 million and $352.3 million, depending on the model, if data from London’s AXON Aviation are correct. But those who wish to order one of the new stable of 777Xs need to set aside between $410.2 million and $442.2 million. For that, buyers will get new General GE9X engines and folding wingtips to help fit the craft’s enormous 71-metre wingspan into certain airports.
List prices are however negotiable by up to 20 to 30%, with large orders, payment terms and existing customer relationships with Boeing all factoring in to the eventual cost per plane. So, if like Southwest Airlines you have only flown Boeings since 1967 and you have a fleet of 820 Boeings already, you should expect some special treatment. Alternatively, there’s always the option of a 737 Max, which the Telegraph has reported is on at a significant discount.
