Boeing 777 Facts & Info – World’s Largest Twin Engine Plane

Boeing 777

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Each engine on the 777 has a diameter approximately the size of a 737’s fuselage

All of the engines on the Titanic delivered around 46,000 horsepower combined. Just one of the GE units on the 777 puts out over 111,000 horsepower

During certification testing in 2002, the GE90-115B engine (777-300) set a world-record 127,900 lbs. of thrust. The GE90-115B ran for approximately 60 hours at triple red-line conditions (max fan speed, core speed and exhaust gas temperature) to evaluate the engine at its operational limits and demonstrate its capability beyond the most extreme operating conditions

There are 3 million parts in a Boeing 777 provided by more than 900 suppliers

The 777 was named winner of the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association, which honored the Boeing 777 as the top aeronautical achievement of 1995

The 777 can cruise at altitudes up to 43,100 feet

Boeing engineers designed and electronically pre-assembled the 777 using computers. New laboratory facilities enabled the various airplane systems to be tested together as a single integrated entity in simulated flight conditions, before the first jetliner took to the air

The 777’s landing gear is the largest ever in a commercial jetliner. With six wheels on each main landing gear, and two wheels on the nose gear, it has an unmistakable footprint

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale recognized the Boeing 777 in April 1997 for achieving a speed and distance record for airplanes in its size and class. The 777 set the “Great Circle Distance Without Landing” record, traveling 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 kilometers or 12,455 miles), and it set the record for “Speed Around the World, Eastbound,” traveling at an average speed of 553 mph (889 kilometers per hour)

On May 30, 1995, the 777 became the first airplane in aviation history to earn U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to fly extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) at entry into service. On that date, the FAA awarded the Pratt & Whitney-powered Boeing 777, 180-minute ETOPS

The 777 underwent the most extensive flight-test program ever conducted on a commercial jetliner. The flight-test program included nine airplanes, which flew more than 7,000 hours and 4,900 flights

The data shared and transferred on the network during the design phase of the 777 program totaled 1,847,930,000,000 bytes of production data. If you collected the equivalent of all this data on 3.5-inch diskettes the stack of these diskettes would be 13,368 feet (4,074.5 meters), which is taller than Mt. Fuji in Japan, which stands 12,338 feet (3760.6 meters)

Today’s Boeing 777 operators enjoy a 99 percent dispatch reliability rate

The flight control system for the 777 airplane is different from those on other Boeing airplane designs. Rather than have the airplane rely on cables to move the ailerons, elevator, and rudder, Boeing designed the 777 with fly-by-wire technology. As a result, the 777 uses wires to carry electrical signals from the pilot control wheel, column, and pedals to a primary flight computer

There is approximately 50,000 cubic feet of volume in a 777-300, and 40,000 in a 777-200

A lightly loaded Boeing 777 can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds

For engine testing, birds weighing up to 8 lbs. were launched into the engines & a rainstorm with 80 inches of rain per hour was created

As of December 2016, 60 customers had placed orders for 1,902 aircraft of all variants, with 1,460 delivered. The most common and successful variant is the 777-300ER with 702 delivered and 809 orders; Emirates operates the largest 777 fleet, with 157 passenger and freighter aircraft as of July 2016

The Boeing 777 is manufactured in Everett, Washington – the plant is so large that it requires its own fire department, security force, fully equipped medical clinic, electrical substations and water-treatment plant. The site’s main assembly building, which the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges as the largest building in the world by volume, its footprint covers 98.3 acres

The 777 was aimed to replace DC-10s and L-1011s

United was the launch customer for the 777 project

Cathay Pacific was the launch customer for the 777-300 project

During takeoff, the 777’s engines push 2 million cubic feet of air per minute. That’s enough air to keep a human breathing for 44 days

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Hull Losses :

17 Jan 2008      British Airways 38          Engine problems while landing at LHR

29 July 2011     EgyptAir                            Fire on the grounds of Cairo International Airport

July 2013           Asiana Airlines 214        Crash landed while landing at SFO

8 March 2014 Malaysia Airlines 370      Disappeared from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

17 July 2014     Malaysia Airlines 17        Shot down from AMS to Kuala Lumpur

3 August 2016 Emirates 521                     Crash landed while landing from India to Dubai
Orders : 

Total orders Total deliveries
777-200 88 88
777-200ER 422 422
777-200LR 59 59
777-300 60 60
777-300ER 809 702
777F 158 129
777X 306
Total 1,902 1,460

Delta to Offer Gift Cards for Customer Service Issues

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Delta has announced that it will offer gift cards to customers for service issues – previously this was limited to SkyMiles or vouchers.

While vouchers let you buy a flight, offering gift cards is a much more valuable way to reward customers. As this program ramps up, expect to see an email from Delta which will forward you to a selection of reimbursement methods (gift cards include Amazon, Amex, Delta, and many other popular stores).

Note – they will not be doing away with vouchers for overbooking, which is also a good thing.

 

Uber will now allow a Person as a destination

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Starting this week, Uber will allow a person to be a destination, rather than only an address. You will be able to upload contacts and then select one, and the Uber driver will be able to take you to them. This works great if you are trying to meet someone after a flight, for example, and your friend is already out on the town.  Game changer.

However, the person can’t move around – its a one-time Uber to Person location lock.

Alaska & Virgin Merger Set To Close

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As one of the most closely watched airline mergers of recent times comes to a finale, many travelers are wondering what will happen as the two airlines become one. Making this more interesting is that both small-ish airlines have a loyal following, and for totally different reasons.

As of December 19, 2016 :

  • Fliers on both airlines earn rewards on each other’s flights
  • Elite benefits are accepted on each others’s flights
  • You’ll be able to purchase Virgin tickets on Alaska’s site
  • No changes to the Virgin flight or brand experience

As of January, 2017

  • Virgin elites will be able to status match to Alaska’s elite plans as of January
  • More information will become available on points transfers, elite statuses, etc
  • Single operating certificate for the newly combined airline
  • Branding and marketing questions to be answered once a more complete evaluation of the Virgin brand and it’s value proposition to customers can be finished

 

 

LGA to DFW Weekend Round Trip for $107

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May 20, 2016

LGA – DFW – LGA Weekend Trip

Delta Platinum Medallion Status

MQM 2,776
MQD 82
MQS 2
SkyMiles 738
Price $107
Cost/Mile $0.039
Delta Reserve Card 214 SkyMiles

Purchase

I wasn’t planning on going to Dallas, but this amazing fare popped up and I couldn’t resist. $107 round trip non stop from LGA to DFW and back is a great fare. It was gone just a few hours after I booked. I used my Delta Reserve card to get 2x SkyMiles, although a better card to use the Amex Gold Premier which gives 3x rewards points on airline purchases.

Getting to the airport

LGA is always interesting to get to – if it’s early enough in the morning, a cab from downtown is about $35 and there is generally no traffic. If it’s any other time, you’ll hit traffic and a better alternative if taking the subway to Astoria and then grabbing a cab to the airport (usually around $10).

LGA doesn’t have a separate SkyPriority area, just a divided line, but it’s generally quick. TSA PreCheck is always a little more congested here than at T4 in JFK. After making it through, I checked out the SkyClub, which allows decent views of the Delta tarmac area and one of the runways.

Gates C12- C14 are in the basement and you take buses out to the aircraft which are in a parking lot at the back corner of the airport. You literally feel like you’re in the basement – low ceilings, awful lay out, and all three gates were boarding simultaneously, etc. It was probably the worst boarding experience I’ve ever had at any airport. Plus you’re also in a crowded bus on the tarmac. I was upgraded to Comfort+ at the last second (they had already called PREM boarding). It seems nearly every time I fly, the upgrade process is different, and very few reps can shed any light on what to expect.

Flight

The flight was uneventful, as are most Delta flights that aren’t in business/first. The Comfort+ seats 5C & 5D have a huge amount of legroom, which was great, since the plane was old and tiny. Thankfully this was a short flight and I was able to doze off for a little while. The only notable item was that on the flight back, Chewbacca Lady (from Facebook video fame) was on our flight, travelling to the Good Morning show in NY. Lots of people recognized her and were requesting photos, which made boarding slower but she was really friendly and accommodating to everyone.

Metrics :

Total time from Apt to LGA SkyClub Bar : 55 mins

Total Time from LGA entrance (defined as exiting the cab & entering the terminal, including security line and walking through terminal to SkyClub) to SkyClubBar: 18 mins

Transcon Sale : NYC to LAS, SFO, & LAX from $237

San Francisco, CA, USA

All major airlines are offering deals in Q1 2017 from their NYC hubs to Vegas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. From Google Flights you can play with dates and times – these fares are appearing for many dates through mid March.

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These are great deals for transcon flight – it doesn’t get much lower than this, especially on all the airlines with tons of availability.

Remember that on direct flights, you generally can’t get a complimentary upgrade to LAX and SFO – although there are ways around this.

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