777 Gets High Marks At First Operations Conference

SEATTLE, Oct. 30, 1995 -- The 777's in-service report card so far is excellent, reported Dean Muncey, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group director of 777 Service Engineering, at the first 777 All Operators Flight Operations Symposium in Seattle this week.

In its first three months of revenue service, United Airline's 777 fleet has experienced a cumulative schedule reliability of 97.7 percent, he said. Schedule reliability is the industry measure for the percentage of time an airplane is free of mechanical delays and able to leave a boarding gate within 15 minutes of scheduled departure. This is a dramatic improvement over the introductions of the 767 and the 747, which achieved this level at 18 months and 38 months respectively.

Sixteen 777 customers, other airlines and major suppliers attended the symposium, held five years to the week from program launch Oct. 29, 1990. The participants heard a number of Boeing reports ranging from flight tests and certification to action plans under way to resolve those few technical issues Muncey highlighted in his remarks.

"We are very pleased with results so far, and attribute the airplane's success to all the early-on accomplishments of working together with our customers. They deserve the credit for helping to design these systems," said Muncey.

An in-service experience report by United Airlines' fleet captain Lew Kosich was a highlight of the symposium. "The 777 has shown itself magnificently during its first four months of service," he said. United is now flying six airplanes, all powered by Pratt & Whitney engines.

Kosich called the 777 the most challenging and unique in his experience. "Personally, I'm certified to fly 20 heavy jets, and my background has been in flight test. I've never seen a program go like this," he said.

"Working together was absolutely awesome," Kosich said. "Our learning curve started five years ago. I don't think a single person involved thought when we started that we could achieve ETOPS certification at delivery. But we did. When the airplane was finally inaugurated into service June 7, it was almost a non- event. We were inaugurating a mature airplane! Two of our inaugural flights were ETOPS flights."

The unique Working Together atmosphere extended beyond the design table where Boeing and its launch customers first met in 1990 and during the manufacturing process itself. The regulatory authorities, the Federal Aviation Administration and Europe's Joint Aviation Authority were involved in early planning to provide concurrent requirements so important to ETOPS certification.

Today, 50 percent of UAL flights are ETOPS (Extended Twin Operations) routes that could fly 180 minutes from suitable airports.

"There have been some technical problems, but they've been minimal compared to other programs," Kosich continued. "But ask any 777 pilot and you'll undoubtedly get a glowing report! Across the board, they love flying the 777."

Kosich devoted much of his presentation to describing United's readiness programs, including pilot training. He said that to meet UAL's aggressive delivery schedule, United's flight training simulators will be running 24 hours a day by next spring.

United Airlines is the new model's largest customer, accounting for 34 of the 187 orders. Since Boeing entered the market with its twin, the 777 has captured 79 percent of orders for this class airplane, outselling the A330 and A340 combined. All Nippon Airlines, second largest 777 customer, took delivery of its first 777 earlier this month. Sixteen airlines have placed firm orders for 777s.