Boeing 777

The Need for Boeing 777

When the Boeing Aircraft Company announced the development of a new model many aviation
experts doubted the rationale behind the decision. They questioned the need for a new model
since Boeing’s 747 had been flying successfully for over 30 years.

Aviation experts argued that Boeing was spending a huge amount of money unnecessarily to
develop a new plane with a capacity similar to the existing 747. They suggested that because
designing an entirely new aircraft was a very complex undertaking, if Boeing wanted to increase
efficiency for operators and convenience for passengers, it could improve the features of the
existing 747. This could be done much more cheaply.

However, Boeing countered by arguing: “Why do auto manufacturers keep improving their latest
models to suit customers’ needs? Because they are dynamic and market-driven and don’t want
to be put out of business by hanging on to old models.” Boeing felt that aircraft manufacturers,
like auto manufacturers, had to keep innovating if they wanted to survive in competitive markets.

The eventual Boeing 777 became one of the most successful aircraft families of all time and
Boeing’s approach to design and manufacturing it established a benchmark for development of
aircraft.

Background

Boeing was founded in 1916 by William Boeing and George Westervelt and was initially called
the Pacific Aero Products Company. The company’s name was changed to Boeing in 1917.
Boeing began manufacturing aircraft for the US military during World War I.

In 1922, Edgar Scott became the company’s president and during his tenure, the US Navy
awarded Boeing a contract to build a primary trainer (planes for test flights). In 1927, the Model

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40A mail plane won a US Post Office contract to deliver mail between San Francisco and
Chicago. Boeing Air Transport (BAT) was formed to run airmail services. BAT also trained pilots,
set-up airfields and provided maintenance staff for these services.

Boeing’s management realized that to accelerate the company’s growth it needed to mass
produce its own aircraft. After World War II, the company shifted its focus from the defence
industry to commercial jets. In 1952, Boeing launched its first commercial jet, the Boeing 707. In
1965, Boeing began designing its first jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, which went on to become one of
the company’s most successful aircraft. Famous variants of the 747 include Air Force One and
the space shuttle carrier. In late 1969, Boeing entered the field of spacecraft manufacturing by
contributing to the Apollo program.

In the mid-1970s, Boeing launched long-range planes (the 757 and the 767). By the mid-1980s,
In March 1984, Boeing took over De Havilliard Aircraft of Canada to enter the commuter planes
business. In the early 1990s Boeing completed the manufacturing of the 727 and the 737 models.

The Launch of the Boeing 777

Though the Boeing 777 began development in the late 1980s, the idea had emerged back in the
1970s. At that time, it was conceived as a tri-engine model rather than the twin-engine model
developed later. The original Boeing 777 was to be based on the existing 767 model with a longer
fuselage and larger wings, with a seating capacity of 340 passengers and with a maximum range
of 13,500 km. However, Boeing’s customers did not seem very impressed with the idea of
developing the 767.They wanted a new aircraft that would be suitable for both short-haul and
deliver operating costs much lower than the 767 model. The development of the 777 tri-jet was
eventually cancelled due to several issues including customer pressure, perceived complexities in
the 767 redesign, and changes to the Extended Twin-engine Operations (ETOPS) regulations of
the 1980s.

Boeing then decided on a totally new design which would become the world’s largest twinjet,
capable of both intercontinental and transcontinental routes and targeted primarily at the Pacific
Rim market.

Design and Manufacturing

Boeing set out to achieving three specific goals when designing the aircraft:

• Reduce aircraft development time significantly

• Meet customer requirements more accurately

• Eliminate costly modification procedures.

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The design process of the 777 was substantially different from that of previous Boeing aircraft.
Boeing engaged in collaborative design and development by involving customers, air carriers,
technicians, finance experts, computer experts and even other aircraft manufacturers. Four
customers, United Airlines, All Nippon Airways, British Airways and Japan Airlines had on-site
representatives working with Boeing designers to ensure that the new aircraft fulfilled their needs.
This represented consultation with the entire range of airline operations with different routes,
traffic loads and service frequency.

The involvement of stakeholders in the development process was achieved through sophisticated
computer technology like Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing
(CAM). Boeing had invested in CAD/CAM technologies in the 1980s and had developed a
strategy for applying the technology to support the design and manufacturing of aircraft.

Boeing 777 was termed the first ‘paperless aircraft’. It was the first digitally-designed aircraft using
the Computer-Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) system. CATIA provided
additional capability in three areas: data management, user productivity and visualization.
Engineers used CATIA to render aircraft parts as three-dimensional digital images. They created
an electronic prototype of the aircraft that was accessible by customers, internal staff and
suppliers. They could simulate the geometry of an aircraft design without making heavy
investments on establishing physical mock-ups. They could also ‘virtually’ assemble millions of
parts on screen, correcting misalignments and other assembly problems. Studies at Boeing had
showed that part interference (incidents of assembly parts overlapping each other) and difficulty
in properly fitting the parts together were the most common problems in manufacturing. The
CAD/CAM technology was used to digitally pre-assemble the aircraft to overcome these problems
and to test the assembly of parts before costly physical prototypes were manufactured. The entire
aircraft was built virtually before it was physically manufactured.

Coordinating the design process was the managerially the most challenging part of the project.
The company organized its workers into 238 cross-functional design teams, each responsible for
a work package. Each team had access to the same data using a common set of applications.
Key component and materials suppliers had access to the virtual models and were involved in all
stages of the development.

The teams included designers, manufacturing representatives, tooling staff, engineers, finance
personnel, suppliers and customers. As nearly 80% of the 777 was built outside Boeing’s
assembly plants, collaboration extended to a global supply chain.

Boeing reaped major benefits by designing in this way. The development time and cost were
reduced significantly as compared to the design process of earlier aircraft including 757 and 767,
Boeing 777 had the following additional advantages.

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 • Elimination of over 3000 assembly interfaces, without physical prototyping.

• The engineering change requests reduced from 6000 to just 600.

• The cycle time for engineering change requests was reduced by half.

• Significant reduction in material rework

• Improved assembly tolerances

The assembly of the 777 was innovative too. For instance, the 777-300ER model was assembled
by workers by loading the 97-foot long wing spar into a giant tool that automatically drilled,
measured and installed more than 5,000 fasteners into the spar. The spar was an internal support
structure that ran the full length of the wings. The spar was also the first to be built using a
moving-line process for final assembly. A moving assembly line kept production moving at a
steady pace, allowing managers to gauge status at a glance and reduce the amount of work-in-
progress inventory. The use of a moving assembly line allowed Boeing to reduce costs and
shorten the construction cycle time.

Features and Functionality

The notable features of 777 included a unique fuselage cross section; Boeing’s first application of
fly-by-wire; and a ‘glass’ flight deck with five liquid crystal displays. The 777 offered optional
folding wings where the outer 6m/21ft of each would fold upwards for operations at space-
restricted airports.

The design of 777 with a larger diameter and circular shape provided more space in the overhead
area of the aircraft. This extra space could be used as crew rest stations, for storage and to
increase passenger seating or cargo capacity.

Other unique features of 777 were the use of lightweight and economical materials in building the
aircraft body. Boeing achieved significant reduction in structural weight while maintaining overall
affordability by using new materials such as aluminium and titanium alloys and composites. The
improved alloys offered greater compression strength than other materials and enabled designers
to improve corrosion and fatigue resistance. Other weight-saving composite materials included
carbon fibers embedded in the vertical and horizontal tails and floor beams of the passenger
cabin.

The wings were more aerodynamically efficient than competitor aircraft allowing the 777 to
achieve higher cruising speeds, to climb more quickly and to cruise at higher altitudes. It also
allowed the plane to carry full passenger payloads at high elevation and high temperature
airfields. The wing design together with lightweight and powerful engines contributed to better fuel
efficiency and lower emissions.
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In Service

In 1995, the Boeing 777 entered service with United Airlines and it soon became the preferred
aircraft in its class due to its operational efficiency and spacious interiors. Airline surveys
worldwide showed that many pilots preferred to fly 777 and passengers liked the spacious, bright
interiors.

In June 1995, the Boeing 777 achieved the top position in the manufacturing category of the
annual Computerworld Smithsonian Awards for its innovative application of computing technology
in developing 777. On February 15, 1996, the 777 won the prestigious Robert J Collier Trophy,
awarded by the US National Aeronautic Association. The award honored the 777 as the top
aeronautical achievement of 1995.

By December 2004, the 777 was available in five models – 777-200, 777-200ER (extended
range), 777-200LR (longer-range), 777-300 and the 777-300ER. The month also witnessed a
milestone in the history of the Boeing 777 family as it reached the 500-unit sales mark sooner
than any other plane in commercial aircraft history. The manufacturing of the 500th 777 aircraft -
300ER, was completed and delivered to Air France.

The Boeing 777 program continues to this day with new versions being developed and offered to
meet evolving market needs. For example, the 777X was launched in November 2013 with two
variants planned: the 777-8 and the 777-9. The 777-9 first flew on January 25, 2020,