It's been a complicated road for Boeing's 777x. The next generation of the world's most popular widebody has had a plethora of hurdles in recent years, moving the jet more than five years behind target and setting Boeing back $2.6 billion. But 2026 looks to finally be its time, as customers anticipate delivers to finally begin in the first half of next year. Despite setbacks, carriers still have high confidence in the plane, with nearly 500 orders in place from airlines worldwide.
A modernization
of the original 777 introduced in 1995, the "X" is planned to offer major improvements over its predecessor by pulling design and technology from its younger brother, the 787 Dreamliner. Unique among Boeing's newest airliners, however, is its folding wingtips. While it's certainly one of the most iconic features of the new jet, it comes from absolute necessity, as Boeing tries to save airlines and airports millions.
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New And Improved
Announced at the Dubai Airshow in 2013, the 777x was built as Boeing's answer to Airbus' ultra-long range A350, hoping use the widebody as a platform to make the largest, most efficient twinjet on the market. That resulted plenty of things getting bigger, starting with General Electric's colossal GE9X engines. With the width of the turbofan somehow outsizing the fuselage of a 737, more has proven to be less, as the new powerplants burn 10% less fuel than their older iterations.
The same upscaling went to the wings. To maximize fuel efficiency, Boeing mimicked the raked wingtips of the 787 Dreamliner, and increased the wingspan to 235 feet, 5 inches — a whole 23 feet more than the last generation (212 feet, 7 inches). The extra real estate comes in the name of efficiency, minimizing drag and improving the aircraft's lift and aerodynamic efficiency. Major savings for fuel in the sky, but back on the ground, it's become a potential money pit for its carriers.
Why The Wingtips
Classic 777s are just small enough to fit inside the International Civil Aviation Organization's "Class E" gates, able to house the 787, A330, and 777 families; these are the largest gauge most global airports' gates are built to. The extra 23 feet in the new generation's wingspan, however, bumps the 777x up to a "Class F" aircraft, forcing it to park in the terminals made for leviathan jumboliners like Boeing's iconic, yet, dying 747 and Airbus' colossal A380. These gates are already sparse even at the world's largest airports, and any upgrades or renovations would cost millions.
The solution was simple: Design foldable wingtips to allow the plane to still fit in its legacy gates. The concept of folding wings is far from new: Since World War II, naval aircraft have been designed to fold their wings to maximize deck space on crowded aircraft carriers. Boeing is no stranger to this, as its F/A-18 Super Hornet uses this design to fit aboard modern supercarriers, and with Boeing patenting the technology for foldable wingtips in the 1990s, there was already plenty prepared for the system to be integrated.
Much like a convertible in a standard car, the wingtips fold and lock with the flip of a switch. The mechanism saves almost 23 feet, and when folded, the wings nearly match the span of the original 777-300. This crucially keeps the plane compatible with Class E gates, letting it fly into the same airports and gates as its elder.
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