All you need to know about the new Boeing’s 777X, the world’s largest twin-engine jet, completes maiden flight(full recap)

Boeing has successfully completed the first test flight of the world's largest twin-engined plane, the 777X.

It comes as the firm attempts to boost its image after its 737 Max plane was grounded last year following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.

The flight took off near Seattle and lasted four hours. Two attempts were called off this week due to high winds.

Further tests are needed before the aircraft enters service with Emirates next year.

The first flight, which took off from Everett, Washington and landed about four hours later at Seattle’s Boeing Field is part of testing that will occur throughout the year as the company works toward winning regulatory approval. That process promises to receive more scrutiny after the two crashes of the 737 Max.

Boeing’s 737 Max single-aisle jetliners have been grounded since March after the second of two crashes, which together killed 346 people. The crisis hurt its reputation and has deepened in recent months, with the release of internal emails revealing employees boasted about convincing regulators and airlines to approve the 737 Max without costly simulator training and others expressing safety concerns. Earlier this month Boeing suspended production of the planes, a move that has rippled through its supply chain, costing close to 3,000 jobs at one manufacturer.

In remarks after the 777X landed, Stan Deal, who now leads Boeing’s important commercial airplane business after his predecessor was ousted in the Max crisis last year, thanked the company’s employees and said: “I want them to know we have your back.”

Deal said the company is trying to regain the public’s confidence and that putting a plane like the 777X “through its paces” shows the world “we know what we’re doing” and that it knows how to design safe airplanes.

Boeing had aimed to first fly the 777X, a plane it launched at the 2013 Dubai Air Show, last year but the company faced delays because of snags with the General Electric GE9X engines, the largest aircraft engine in the world. The diameter of the engine fan is 11 feet, a foot wider than an NBA basketball hoop is high off the ground.

The plane is the largest twin-engine jet ever built and has a wingspan so wide — more than 235 feet — it features folding wingtips that reduce that width by more than 20 feet so the plane can fit into various airport taxiways and gates. The 777X-9 is slightly longer than Boeing’s most iconic plane: the hump-backed 747, which is fading away as airlines opt for twin-engine aircraft that require less fuel.

The 777X, an updated version of the 777 that first flew commercially in 1995, faces its own challenges. Orders for wide-body jets have slowed and several airlines have signed up for rival Airbus’ long-range single-aisle A321XLR planes. The 777X, which lists for $422.2 million although airlines usually receive discounts, can fit up to 426 passengers in a two-class configuration. Boeing had 344 firm orders for the 777X at the end of the third quarter, according to a company filing, and Emirates is its biggest single customer.

The 777X, a larger and more efficient version of Boeing's successful 777 mini-jumbo, took off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:09am local time (18:09 GMT) on Saturday and landed at 2pm (22:00 GMT) in Seattle's Boeing Field. Two earlier attempts were called off this week due to high winds.

"It's a proud day for us," said Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplane unit.

"It made all of our employees proud one more time of who we are and what we get to do, by flying a brand new airplane that is going to change the world one more time," Deal added.

 

Boeing said the three-hour, 51-minute test flight would be followed by months of testing and certification before the aircraft enters service with Emirates airline in 2021, a year later than originally scheduled because of snags during development.

The aircraft is the larger of two versions planned by Boeing and will officially be known as the 777-9, but is better known under its development codename, the 777X. The 777-9 can carry 426 passengers.

The 777X will be the first major aircraft to be certified since the role of software flaws in the 737 MAX crashes prompted accusations of cozy relations between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and heralded tougher scrutiny.

The FAA has pledged to ensure a rigorous review of the 777X review, while Emirates wants the plane to be put through "hell on Earth" during testing to ensure it is safe and meets performance expectations.

Boeing says it has sold 309 of the aircraft - worth more than $442m each at list prices - but analysts have questioned its heavy reliance on Middle East carriers that have scaled back purchases as they suffer a pause in their expansion.

The 777X will compete with the recently introduced Airbus A350-1000, which seats about 360 passengers. Both reflect the growing range and efficiency of twin-engine jets that are steadily displacing their older four-engine counterparts.

The two planemakers have clashed over the relative efficiency of their latest jets but both face worries about demand due to overcapacity and signs of weakness in the global economy.