The Boeing 777 has been a huge success for Boeing. Since its launch, it has overtaken the Boeing 747 to become the most sold widebody in history. And it continues still with the new 777X promising a lot. But amongst the variants, the 777-300 stands out with low sales of just 60 aircraft. Rather than being a failure, though, it was simply too lacking in range to be taken up by many airlines.
The launch of the 777: the 777-200
The 777 was developed as a long-range twinjet to capitalize on the improvements in twin-engine operations possible with new ETOPS regulations. The 747 had already seen huge success as a long-range widebody, but with high capacity and four engines. And the 767 had success as a smaller capacity twinjet. Boeing saw big potential with something between the two.
The 777-200 entered service in June 1995 with United Airlines. It proved a popular choice with several US airlines for domestic flights and was also popular in Asia.
The strongest demand, though, was for a longer range version. With a range of 9,700 kilometers, the 777-200 was limited in international, and in particular transoceanic, operations. The 777-200ER addressed this, with a range of 13,080 kilometers. It entered service (with British Airways) in February 1997. Order numbers show how the longer-range was desired. The 777-200ER has seen 422 deliveries, compared to just 88 for the 777-200.
Making it larger with the 777-300
The same situation, with strong demand for a higher range, has been seen with the larger 777-300. This larger airframe increased passenger capacity by around 20% to around 368 (in three class configuration).
It was launched at the Paris Air Show in 1995 and entered service in 1998 with Cathay Pacific. With a range of 11,165 kilometers, it offered a good step up from the 777-200 in…