Progress: 1st Boeing 777-9 Production Aircraft Flies Before Lufthansa Delivery

In a statement to Simple Flying, Boeing told us that on Thursday, May 7th, the Playmaker flew, for the first time, a 777-9 with a fully outfitted passenger cabin. It added that the Lufthansa-bound airframe performed as expected on its first flight and will continue with planned ground and flight testing in the weeks ahead. Let's look at the details of this milestone flight for today's video. According to Boeing, the first test flight was 3 hours and 27 minutes as the crew conducted a standard flight profile to test the airplane's systems and structures. During this flight, the plane flew over Washington State and part of Oregon. In addition to the dedicated test fleet, Boeing uses production airplanes to support testing required for certification. This is what we've seen take place for other jets from the company, including 737 MAX variants and the 787. The airframe in question was actually the sixth 777-9 to fly, and it will be painted in Lufthansa livery prior to delivery. Its test registration is N20080, while its test designation is WH128. Its line number is 1781. The flight marks a major step forward in the beleaguered 777X program, which is nearing seven years past its original schedule to debut. Lufthansa was the launch customer when sales began, and currently holds an order for at least 20 of the next-generation widebody jetliners. Thus, the very first production model will go directly to the carrier that also celebrated a century of operations this year. Lufthansa's original plan was for the 777X to enter service in 2020, but years of certification delays have pushed out the timeline significantly. Its older 747-400s, averaging 26 years old, were meant to be gone already but have held on as stopgaps due to the 777X delays. Lufthansa now plans to retire its final eight 747-400 aircraft within the next one or two years. Lufthansa's new long-haul branding and allegorist cabin concept will be standard on the airline's 777-9s. The new jets will reportedly include throne seats with extra space up at the front and beds up to 220cm long. The most recent test flight should bolster confidence that the jet's delivery won't slip again. Simple Flying reported earlier this week that Lufthansa's CEO Carsten Spohr expressed confidence that the new fleet will begin to take shape early next year. On this topic, Spohr said, After our conversation with Boeing on March 6th that these aircraft will arrive in the first quarter and be deployed in the summer, I'm even more optimistic that they'll be delivered in 2027, in the winter. Two to four 747-400s will be removed from the fleet. So are you getting excited about the 777X entering service next year? Let us know by leaving a comment.