When the 777-300ER came out in 1994 it promised a change in aviation's quest of a perfect blend of performance and value. It delivered. Now the 777X comes with 787 attributes and 777 visions for that initial aircraft. It has folding wings made of composite material and a wider body due to thinner outside walls engineered. It will fly up to 400 or more customers going over 7,000 miles with a 15% efficiency gain. After building 1,400 plus 777's a winning hand is presented to its customers across the globe. The natural outcome would be to replace the 1,400 777's with 1,400 777X's over the next 15 years.
There will always be the Airbus A350-1000 crowd because of deal-making and commonality considerations but the 777X is set to rule aviation's traveling customers. A quieter engine with more technological improvement because of the 787 progress, suggests the 777X will meet its promise of changing the aviation world. The 777X will be a natural replacement for the much loved A380 just from its efficiencies, but it also will have A380 like space for its passengers. A double deck becomes more of a novelty than a functioning attribute. The 777X will fold in nicely into all A380 airport expansion slots. The 500 passenger capacity of the A380 is hard to fill at this time for traveling pairs of cities. The 777X makes more sense at 400 passengers.
Even though Boeing has sold about 356 777X's it will most insistently sell double that amount after it enters service in 2020. The engine delay from GE is a lesson learned from the 787 programs. "Make it right", is more important to a company's future than just making it fast. Boeing is showing it can wait for it through the 777X program. Even though it will not have first flight by June 26, 2019, it will fly the first time before 2020. It may make first delivery during 2020. It all depends on getting right rather than just getting it. It will sell another hundred of its type before first delivery.
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