The twin-engine, wide-body 777 was launched by Boeing in October 1990 as the first in a new family of commercial transports designed for the difficult operating environment of the coming twenty-first century. It was kicked off as part of a $22 billion order from United Airlines and was intended to extend the economies of a wide-body twin into new, long-range markets, while utilizing features such as an optional folding wing-tip and quieter engines to help the transport adapt to ever-worsening airport and airway congestion. |