Background

What to expect from the new Boeing 777-9 – the world’s longest and widest passenger plane

Article arrow_drop_down


Last week Jack Hayward, senior first officer at British Airways, tweeted: “Exciting times as BA announces the intention to operate Boeing 777-9 aircraft as part of our fleet. There has never been a better time to join us – flying the biggest and best jets to all four corners of the globe.” He was writing shortly after America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted permission for Boeing to conduct the first certification flights of its new jet.

It’s not hard to see why a pilot might be excited at the prospect of the 777-9. After the four-engine Boeing 747 flew into the history books of most airlines during the pandemic and Airbus scrapped production of its double-decker successor, the A380 superjumbo, the world has needed a new giant of the skies. Boeing – and Hayward – are convinced that the 777-9 is it.

What is it and what do passengers – and pilots – have to look forward to?

The largest new commercial jet soon to be available to airlines may be a successor to the jumbo and the A380 but it is, alas, a single-decker plane. There are no stairs which fancy fliers can ascend to the bubble on the top deck. Double-deckers require four engines and none but a handful of carriers want to operate four-engine jets any more because they consume too much fuel per passenger.

The 777-9 does, however, have some snazzy design features. To improve fuel efficiency and help to combat turbulence, which many analysts say is getting more frequent and more severe, the wings are the longest on any commercial jet, with a span of 235ft. They are so long that in order to park at the gates in most airports, the tips will fold up after the plane has landed, like on a fighter jet, which will allow First Officer Hayward to indulge his Top Gun fantasies.

Emirates will be among the first carriers to fly the Boeing 777-9, shown here at the Dubai Air Show 2023Emirates will be among the first carriers to fly the Boeing 777-9, shown here at the Dubai Air Show 2023

Emirates will be among the first carriers to fly the Boeing 777-9, shown here at the Dubai Air Show 2023 – Bloomberg

The fuselage is the longest of any commercial jet, more than 250ft, allowing airlines to carry up to 426 passengers, depending on how many classes they offer. New lean-burn engines mean it can fly for 8,400 miles in one hop, making non-stop flights from London to Hawaii possible.

Boeing already has 481 orders for the new jet, which has a list price of £334 million. Qatar Airways and Emirates, which will be among the first carriers to fly it, will use the 777-9 to install brand new first-class cabins, just as they used the A380 to introduce halo products, such as suites, bars and showers. British Airways and Singapore Airlines will follow suit.

The jet is so large that most airlines will go for a four-class configuration: economy, premium economy, business and first. The width of the fuselage means that there will be 10 seats across in economy, arranged three-four-three across the cabin. Most passengers would prefer nine but Boeing insists the seats will still be roomier than most economy seats. Passengers in every cabin will have something of a view because the windows will be the largest on a jet of this size.

Boeing says the 777-9 will boast the most advanced air filtration systems to keep the air cleaner and less dry than on rival jets. The cabin will be pressurised at an altitude of 6,000ft, the lowest pressure possible, which will prevent passengers’ legs and ankles swelling. LED lighting systems will enable airlines to change the brightness and tone from “sunrise” to “sunset”, and even show a “starry night sky”, to try to nudge travellers on to the time zone of their destination and reduce jet lag.

Boeing hopes its 777-9s will be approved to go into service next yearBoeing hopes its 777-9s will be approved to go into service next year

Boeing hopes its 777-9s will be approved to go into service next year – Bloomberg

The 777-9’s long wing span and GE9X engines mean it will be more efficient than competing aircraft, such as the Airbus A350-1000, and will have 10 per cent lower operating costs, Boeing claims. Brad Till, the firm’s managing director of commercial aeroplanes product marketing and analysis, says: “This aircraft will have the lowest CO2 emissions per seat of any wide-body flying. The new engine technology also delivers lower NOx [nitrogen oxides] emissions and less noise, both in the cabin for the passengers and for our airport communities, compared to the aeroplanes that this will replace.”

It’s not only the width and efficiency of the 777-9 that surpass its competitors: it has been more delayed than any new aircraft. It was announced in 2014 but its development has been set back by the pandemic, supply chain snarl-ups, troublesome testing programmes and the distraction posed by the FAA’s investigation into the corner-cutting which was responsible for the botched development of the short-haul 737 Max 8 model.

Boeing ended production of its 747 jumbo jet in 2023, more than half a century after its first flight in 1969Boeing ended production of its 747 jumbo jet in 2023, more than half a century after its first flight in 1969

Boeing ended production of its 747 jumbo jet in 2023, more than half a century after its first flight in 1969 – Getty

Some 346 people died in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019 when first an Indonesian Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 short-haul jet and then an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 plummeted to the ground shortly after take-off. Boeing’s woes deepened earlier this year when a door panel on a 737 Max blew out at 16,000ft and reports emerged that some of the company’s long-haul 787 “Dreamliner” jets had not been assembled and maintained correctly. Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud in the development of the Max and to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines in a proposed settlement with the FAA.

Boeing built a handful of 777-9s for Emirates but they were never delivered because the aircraft had not been certified as safe to fly in time. The interiors had to be scrapped since they would have been out of date by the time the jets finally came into service. Now that the 777-9 is undergoing certification flights, Boeing hopes it will be approved to go into service next year.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.



Source: www.yahoo.com

About the author

trending_flat
Daniel Lurie leads after strange and terrible election night: Analysis

It’s a shame that San Francisco’s fascinating election results can’t be viewed in isolation from the strange and terrible returns that propelled Donald Trump once more to the presidency. But the luxury of ignoring the bigger picture is something San Francisco no longer gets to do. As of a shade before 1 a.m., every last in-person vote was tabulated — 37,345 of them (20,000 provisional votes are pending). In-person voting is a bit like shaving with a straight-edge razor or knitting your own pot-holders: You could do it if you wanted to, but hardly anybody does. At present, 234,453 votes have been counted; a shade under 45 percent. The Department of Elections expects around 157,000 more votes to trickle in (including those 20,000 provisional ballots). That would result in perhaps a 75 percent turnout; San Francisco voters show up at an average […]

trending_flat
Gov. Tim Walz will face new era of divided government in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz faces a new era of divided government when he returns home from the presidential campaign trail, now that Republicans appear to have broken the Democratic trifecta that helped put him on Kamala Harris’ radar.While Democrats will keep their one-seat majority in the Senate, leaders on both sides agree that Republicans gained enough seats in the election to tie control of the House at 67-67.According to a tally by The Associated Press, the chamber stood at 65-65 Wednesday afternoon. It would end in a 67-67 tie if the leaders of the last four undeclared races remain ahead. Two of them are so razor-thin that automatic recounts have been triggered unless lawmakers waive them.The last time the House was tied was in 1979, and the history of that legislative session suggests that power-sharing will be contentious.In […]

trending_flat
Kremlin aide says Germany car industry plight shows green transition risks

By Vladimir Soldatkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian industry may suffer the fate of car makers in Germany, which have shed tens of thousands of jobs, if it moves too fast to replace fossil fuels, a Kremlin adviser said on Wednesday. "The Russian Federation supports a gradual transition, a gradual transformation, so as to avoid shock scenarios on the energy markets, industrial markets," Kremlin climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriyev told a conference in Sochi, southern Russia. "Miscalculated ambitions damaged Germany's auto industry," he said, speaking five days before the next U.N. climate change conference begins in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and number two exporter of oil. It is one of the world's top carbon dioxide emitters along with China, the United States and India. Russia joined the Paris climate change pact in 2019, which […]

trending_flat
Live updates from San Francisco November races

Follow along for Mission Local’s live updates for Election Day from across San Francisco. For updates in the run-up to the election, click here, and to learn more about the candidates and measures on the ballot, go to our election dashboard. If you like our coverage, consider supporting Mission Local. It’s a heck of an effort, today and every day. Election analysisTuesday, Nov. 5: Today is Election Day in San Francisco. Here’s what to expect.Imagine a political campaign is like a ski ramp, with candidates gaining momentum before soaring off into the unknown.  If so, that would render Mark Farrell the Vinko Bogataj of the 2024 San Francisco mayoral campaign. You probably don’t know this name, but you probably do know who this is: He’s the Yugoslavian skier whose horrifying ski-jump-gone-wrong for many years defined “the agony of defeat” in […]

trending_flat
China’s J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover

China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy.The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12.The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light […]

Related

trending_flat
Gov. Tim Walz will face new era of divided government in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz faces a new era of divided government when he returns home from the presidential campaign trail, now that Republicans appear to have broken the Democratic trifecta that helped put him on Kamala Harris’ radar.While Democrats will keep their one-seat majority in the Senate, leaders on both sides agree that Republicans gained enough seats in the election to tie control of the House at 67-67.According to a tally by The Associated Press, the chamber stood at 65-65 Wednesday afternoon. It would end in a 67-67 tie if the leaders of the last four undeclared races remain ahead. Two of them are so razor-thin that automatic recounts have been triggered unless lawmakers waive them.The last time the House was tied was in 1979, and the history of that legislative session suggests that power-sharing will be contentious.In […]

trending_flat
Kremlin aide says Germany car industry plight shows green transition risks

By Vladimir Soldatkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian industry may suffer the fate of car makers in Germany, which have shed tens of thousands of jobs, if it moves too fast to replace fossil fuels, a Kremlin adviser said on Wednesday. "The Russian Federation supports a gradual transition, a gradual transformation, so as to avoid shock scenarios on the energy markets, industrial markets," Kremlin climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriyev told a conference in Sochi, southern Russia. "Miscalculated ambitions damaged Germany's auto industry," he said, speaking five days before the next U.N. climate change conference begins in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russia is the world's biggest exporter of natural gas and number two exporter of oil. It is one of the world's top carbon dioxide emitters along with China, the United States and India. Russia joined the Paris climate change pact in 2019, which […]

trending_flat
China’s J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover

China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy.The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12.The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light […]

trending_flat
Musk now says it’s ‘pointless’ to build a $25,000 Tesla for human drivers

By Chris Kirkham (Reuters) - When Reuters reported in April that Tesla (TSLA) had scrapped plans for a long-promised, next-generation $25,000 electric vehicle, the automaker’s stock plunged. Chief Executive Elon Musk rushed to respond on X, his social-media network. “Reuters is lying,” he posted, without elaborating. Tesla’s stock recovered some of its losses. Six months later, Musk appears to have backed into an admission that Tesla dropped its plans for a human-driven $25,000 car. He said in an Oct. 23 earnings call that building the affordable EV would be "pointless” unless the car was fully autonomous. His latest remarks came in response to an investor asking: “When can we expect Tesla to give us the $25,000 non-robotaxi regular car model?” Musk responded: “We’re not making a non-robo…,” before he was interrupted by another Tesla executive. Musk later added: “Basically, I […]

trending_flat
Tucker Carlson Bizarrely Blames Abortion For Increase In Hurricanes

If you thought Tucker Carlson couldn’t get any weirder after claiming he was “physically mauled” by a demon that left claw marks on his body, guess again.Now the former Fox News host turned Donald Trumptoadie is blaming abortions for the increase in hurricanes.Carlson made the dubious claim Monday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast during a discussion about spirituality that stemmed from his recent claim he’d been attacked by a demon.Somehow the conversation morphed into Carlson decreeing that anyone who thinks reproductive rights are a good thing is “evil” and practicing child sacrifice.Carlson then claimed that people who don’t agree with his thinking are “worshiping abortion, the killing of kids, not as something that, like, needs to happen unfortunately, but as something that is good, that’s pro-abortion.”He then proclaimed that abortion likely causes hurricanes.“I’m sure I’ll be attacked for saying […]

trending_flat
Scientists Found a ‘Yellow Brick Road’ at The Bottom of The Pacific Ocean

An expedition to a deep-sea ridge, just north of the Hawaiian Islands, revealed a surprise discovery back in 2022: an ancient dried-out lake bed paved with what looks like a yellow brick road.The eerie scene was chanced upon by the exploration vessel Nautilus, while surveying the Liliʻuokalani ridge within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).PMNM is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world, larger than all the national parks in the United States combined, and we've only explored about 3 percent of its seafloor.Researchers at the Ocean Exploration Trust are pushing the frontiers of this wilderness, which lies more than 3,000 meters below the waves, and the best part is, anyone can watch the exploration.A highlight reel of the expedition's footage published on YouTube in April 2022 captured the moment researchers operating the deep-sea vehicle stumbled upon the […]

About Karl The Fog

Welcome to Karl The Fog, your digital gateway to the enigmatic world of San Francisco’s legendary mist. We are the storytellers, the observers, and the chroniclers of the ever-elusive, charismatic character known as Karl.

KARL THE FOG, and KARL THE FOG COFFEE logos, images, fonts, names, and other trademarks are trademarks of KARL THE FOG, LLC and may not be used without permission.

Login to enjoy full advantages

Please login or subscribe to continue.

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Unfollow Cancel

Cancel subscription

Are you sure you want to cancel your subscription? You will lose your Premium access and stored playlists.

Go back Confirm cancellation