Boeing 777X

The Boeing 777X is the latest series of the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jetliners in the Boeing 777 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The changes for 777X include General Electric GE9X engines, composite wings with folding wingtips, greater cabin width and seating capacity, and technologies from the Boeing 787. The 777X was launched in November 2013 with two variants: the 777-8 and the 777-9. The 777-8 provides seating for 395 passengers and has a range of while the 777-9 has seating for 426 passengers and a range of over .

The 777X program was proposed in the early 2010s with assembly at the Boeing Everett Factory and the wings built at a new adjacent building. , there are 503 total orders for the 777X passenger and freighter versions from 12 customers. The 777-9 first flew on January 25, 2020. Deliveries have been delayed multiple times, with the earliest planned introduction having been for December 2019 delivery; Boeing expects the first aircraft to be delivered in 2026, to the launch customer Lufthansa.

Development

Initial design

In 2011, Boeing refined its response to the revamped Airbus A350 XWB with three 777X models, targeting a firm configuration in 2015, flying in late 2017 or 2018, and entering service by 2019. The then-proposed, 407–passenger 777-9X stretched the 777-300ER by four frames to in length, for a maximum take-off weight (MTOW). It would have been powered by engines, targeting per-seat 21% better fuel burn and 16% better operating cost. Early designs of the smaller 353-seat 777-8X proposed stretching the 777-200ER by ten frames to a length of , with a MTOW and turbofans to compete with the A350-900. An 8LX version with the 9X's MTOW would have had a range of . The current 777-200LR/300ER has a MTOW.

The proposals also included a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) wing with a wingspan of with blended winglets, or up to with raked wingtip would have provided for a 10% larger wing area. The aircraft would have fallen into ICAO aerodrome code F like the 747-8 and A380 but with folding wingtips would stay within the code E like current 777s. Horizontal stabilizers also were extended.

Engine selection

The General Electric GE90-115B of the earlier 777-200LR and -300ER variants has a 42:1 overall pressure ratio and 23:1 compressor ratio. Rolls-Royce Plc proposed its RB3025 concept with a fan diameter, a 12:1 bypass ratio, and a 62:1 overall pressure ratio, targeting a fuel burn of more than 10% lower than the GE90-115B and 15% lower than its Trent 800 powering the 777; the RB3025 concept has a composite fan, a core derived from the Trent 1000, and advanced HP materials. Pratt & Whitney responded with the thrust PW1000G geared turbofan architecture. GE Aviation proposed the GE9X with a diameter fan, a 10:1 bypass ratio, a 60:1 overall pressure ratio, and 27:1 HP compressor ratio for a 10% fuel burn reduction.

In March 2013, Boeing selected the GE9X with a fan. It is the largest fan made by GE. In the rest of 2013, thrust was bumped to to support the MTOW growing from and increasing the payload-range, with a possible envisioned.

Some customers bemoaned the loss of engine competition, like Air Lease Corporation's CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy who wanted a choice of engines. Airbus points out that handling more than one engine type adds millions of dollars to an airliner cost. Pratt and Whitney said: "Engines are no longer commodities...the optimization of the engine and the aircraft becomes more relevant."

Launch

In 2012, with the Boeing 737 MAX in development and the 787-10 launch in preparation, Boeing decided to slow 777X development to reduce the risk with introduction still forecast for 2019. On May 1, 2013, Boeing's board of directors approved selling the 353-seat 777-8LX to replace the 777-300ER from 2021, after the larger 406-seat -9X.

The design work is distributed between Charleston, Huntsville, Long Beach, Philadelphia, and St. Louis in the U.S and Moscow, Russia. Its development cost could be over $5 billion with at least $2 billion for the carbon-composite wing.

On September 18, 2013, Lufthansa became its launch customer by selecting 34 Boeing 777-9X airliners, along with 25 Airbus A350-900s to replace its 22 747-400s and 48 A340-300/600s for its long-haul fleet. At the November 2013 Dubai Airshow, the -8X for 350 passengers over a range and the -9X, seating more than 400 over were launched with 259 orders and commitments for US$95 billion (~$ in ) at list prices. This was the largest commercial aircraft launch by dollar value with Emirates ordering 150, Qatar Airways 50, and Etihad Airways 25, in addition to the September 2013 Lufthansa commitment for 34 aircraft. Boeing dropped the variants' "X" suffix, while keeping the 777X program name at the 2015 Dubai Airshow. In June 2017, Lufthansa was considering delaying 777X deliveries and could limit its -9 orders to 20 and order more A350s.

Production

In December 2014, Boeing began construction on a composites facility in St. Louis to be completed in 2016, to build 777X parts with six autoclaves for the wing and empennage parts, starting in 2017. The 787 'surge' line at the Everett factory would be converted into a 777X early production line by the end of 2015. Boeing built a building adjacent to the Everett factory, with a autoclave, and a robot to wind fiber for the wings. The first 777X was planned to be built on the ex-787 "surge" line.

The -9 firm-configuration was reached in August 2015 and assembly of the initial aircraft was to begin in 2017 for a December 2019 introduction advanced from the previously scheduled 2020. With a current 777 production rate of 100 per year, 380 on order at the end of 2013 and no orders at the February 2014 Singapore Airshow, bridging the gap to the 777X deliveries starting from 2020 is a challenge: to stimulate orders, sales of current 777s can be paired with 777Xs and used 777s can be converted to freighters to be sold and stimulate sales.

2017

In April 2017, the initial one-piece wing spar came onto the assembly jig and was about to enter lay-up in June; first parts assembly for the initial -9, a static test airframe, were underway in the purpose-built wing center near Everett, Washington. Four -9s, a fatigue-test airframe, and two -8s were planned for testing. Tests of avionics, power and integrated systems continue in Boeing Field laboratories and were integrated into an "Airplane Zero" in 2017 as 70% detailed design was done by June 2017.

The assembly of the first composite wing test example began in Everett in late September 2017 with its top section lowered into a jig for robotic drilling. Boeing launched the 777-9 production on October 23 with the wing spar drilling; its maiden flight was scheduled in the first quarter of 2019, one year before its introduction, perhaps with Emirates.

On November 7, 90% of the engineering drawings were released, with the airframe before the systems: 99% of the wing and 98% of the fuselage drawings are released. The detailed design phase was expected to be completed in 2017 as avionics, power and other systems are ready for ground tests. Aircraft Numbers 1 and 6 were planned to be used for ground tests; four 777-9s (No. 2 to 5) were slated for the flight test and certification campaign, with two 777-8s to come later. Final assembly was planned to start in 2018 before roll-out the same year.

The 777X production techniques were expected to be major cost-cutters. The Fuselage Automated Upright Build (FAUB) system was developed and quietly tested in Anacortes, Washington

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