BOEING brought one of their two development 777LRs (seen here on its first flight) to Gatwick last week, part of a certification programme that includes what the manufacturer calls its ”World Tour”, 20 cities in 54 days. The aircraft also includes a mock-up of an Airbus A340 cross section within the fuselage. The 777-200LR is in essence the standard -200 aircraft with the larger wings of the -300 and extra fuel tanks offering a 9,500 nautical mile range, New York to Auckland, Miami to Taipei and tantalisingly London to Sydney. As Geoff Dixon put it (see Qantas story in this issue) ”the holy grail for airlines”. However the aircraft cannot as yet commercially make Sydney ” London. First delivery to PIA is due early next year and the manufacturer has announced orders and commitments from that airline, EVA, Qatar Airways, Air India and Jet Airways, also of India. Boeing claim that on a typical ultra long range route, such as Los Angeles ” Singapore the 777-200LR can carry 21 more passengers and 22,300lbs of additional cargo compared to the Airbus A340-500. The ”big twin” will consume nearly 6,000 gallons of fuel less per flight.
http://www.boeing.com