Boeing has completed the first test flight of a newly built 777-9 in Washington, marking the first time in nearly five years that a new, larger variant of the 777X family has been flown.
In a statement, Boeing said that this represents progress in the development of the new widebody aircraft towards certification and eventual entry into commercial service.
The flight took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington on August 5, 2025, at 11:03 local time, for a flight lasting 2 hours and 27 minutes.
According to Boeing, the aircraft flew a path over Washington, reaching an altitude of 39,000 feet (11,887 meters) and an airspeed of 511 knots. It landed safely back at Paine Field at 13:30 local time.
The aircraft was operated by Captain Ted Grady, the chief pilot of the 777X, and Captain Mark Brown, the project pilot for the 777-9. Systems operators Zach Lewis and Joel Conard accompanied them, along with flight analysts Cody Bruinsma and Mike Deutsch.
“The 777-9 flies beautifully, and this airplane performed just as we expected,” Capt. Grady commented. “We appreciate the hard work of our teams who designed, built and prepared this airplane for flight, and we’re continuing our focus on getting the 777-9 certified and in our customers’ fleets.”
Let’s fly!
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) August 5, 2025
Our team successfully completed a first flight of a 777-9 today.
The pilots, along with system operators and flight analysts, completed a 2-hour, 27-minute flight profile to validate the airplane’s handling and performance.
More: https://t.co/Oop5A6aoFo pic.twitter.com/BJv3EyUBG1
Inside the 777-9’s prep work
The aircraft left the factory in June 2025, after which it underwent engine tests and taxi trials. Michael Kellner, the Engineering Ship Captain for the aircraft, worked with various engineering teams to assist the production crew in getting the aircraft ready for flight.
“We care for these airplanes; we even view them as our kids,” said Kellner. “We’ve invested a lot of hard work to ready this airplane and bring us one step closer to delivering the 777-9.”
The manufacturer announced that the airplane will go through a clearer set of ground and flight tests to assess its resilience against electromagnetic interference and lightning strikes. Currently, Boeing has completed over 4,000 hours of flight testing on the 777-9 test fleet.
The 777X family, which includes the 777-9, the 777-8 Freighter, and the 777-8 passenger aircraft, represents the latest addition to Boeing’s widebody family.
However, the 777X program has encountered several difficulties since it was first introduced in 2013. Originally slated for entry into service in 2020, the aircraft’s timeline was pushed back multiple times, in part due to stricter regulatory scrutiny following the 737 MAX crisis. Technical problems, including a cargo door failure during testing, further complicated development.
Boeing aims to deliver the first 777-9 in 2026. So far, customers have placed orders for more than 550 777X aircraft.
7 comments
While I understand building an airplane is a complicated process I am confounded by how long it is taking to solve the engine icing issue. Between the expertise of Boeing, GE and use of computers why has it taken years and the issue still has not been resolved.
I am a long time shareholder and I asked IR but so far I have not received a response.
777 family is a Aviation marvelsl. Withstands turbulance quite comfortably. The range is great and this machine is supported by Boeing technological advantage close to 100 years gives confidence to paasagers who fly it. I am a fan of 777 and prefer for long haul flights.
Fun to read about “Boeing technological advantage”… have you read the news since… let’s say 2019 and the grounding of the 737 max.
Personally I prefer the A380, a lot more quiet and better cabin pressure.
Tout à fait d’accord avec FLO. Merci pour ce commentaire.
I prefer my socata TB10: no pressure issues and more quiet than “your A380” 😉
How in the world does it take almost a decade to design and build a new airplane when Boeing designed and built the 747 (without computers) and delivered it within two years? Are we going backwards?
I flew every 747 model except the SP, including the Dreamlifter. Boeing has had increased issues since being taken over by bean counters in Chicago. Perhaps it is not appreciated that the MAX crisis was in someways greatly exacerbated by the end users. With hind sight this could have been avoided by two small additions, a MCAS in motion light and tone and a guarded and breakaway wired MCAS OFF switch. Boeing Test Pilot Mark Feuerstein once told me that he had experienced numerous events that the engineers predicted has a 1:10 *6 chance of ever occurring.
As to the A380, It’s ugly and you can’t fix ugly.