- Boeing’s new flagship 777X aircraft is the first commercial plane with folding wingtips.
- Airport gate space concerns ignited the need for the new folding mechanism.
- The aircraft has garnered 481 orders from carriers such as British Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa.
Boeing’s latest addition to its growing fleet of commercial jets is the innovative 777X.
Boeing announced its next-generation widebody at the Dubai Airshow in 2013 as a bigger and more efficient version of its 777-300ER and its solution to the rival Airbus A350. Over a dozen global carriers, like British Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa, have contributed to the 777X’s 481-strong order book.
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Boeing expects the plane to be certified by 2025, though it is already five years behind schedule and $1.5 billion in the hole due to design flaws, supply chain issues, and the pandemic, among other setbacks.
Emirates president Tim Clark, the biggest buyer of the 777X, with 205 on order, told The Air Current in June that the timeline will likely see a 2026 certification. Still, airlines remain confident that the new high-capacity flagship will replace older-generation widebodies as a more cost-efficient long-haul option.
That’s thanks to its mammoth engines and wingspan, the latter sporting a revolutionary technology not yet seen in commercial aviation but necessary for the plane’s success: folding wingtips.
