To those of us who remember the early years of the jet age, the Boeing 777 seems like a new addition to the skies, but the retirement last week of the very first one shifts the perspective a bit.
Cathay Pacific and Boeing joined to give the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona its newest exhibit, adding to 350 planes already there. It's a special 777; its line number is 1, and Boeing flew it as the original test vehicle in 1994, keeping it for further tests until it went to Cathay in 2000. For Cathay Pacific, it flew 20,519 flights with 49,687 hours in the air, far above the average.
Of course, it's far from the end of service for 777s, which have become a backbone of long-distance routes for many airlines. The latest versions, part of the next-generation 777X project, will fly starting next year as the 777-8 and 777-9, with 365 to 414 seats.
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