This week marks the 25th anniversary of the first commercial Boeing 777 flight, a United flight from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles and from domestically Denver to Chicago. The last quarter century has been quite a ride for the Triple Seven. What was the inaugural trip like?
The late Darren Booth, my former colleague and friend, was on the domestic inaugural flight from Denver (DEN) to Chicago (ORD) on June 7, 1995 abroad United flight 910.
He shared his experience on his blog, which is maintained even after his death. His wonderful memories from that flight transport me back 20 years. Take a few minutes to read his United inaugural 777 trip report.
> Trip Report: United Airlines Inaugural 777 Flight
My Own United 777 Story
The United 777 also plays a big role in my own loyalty journey. If you’ve ever read the story of why I tend to be loyal to United, you might remember this part:
United was the launch customer of the 777 and one of my fondest childhood memories was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1996 onboard a brand new 777. Sitting next to my brother, we enjoyed watching Disney cartoons from our seatback monitor and were served McDonald’s Happy Meals and even received a toy.
You have to imagine how it felt as a kid to fly on a widebody aircraft for the first time, to have an in-flight meal for the first time (and McDonald’s to boot!), and to be able to pass the flight watching TV on your own screen.
That 777 flight 19 years ago helped to make me a loyal United flyer all these years later.
> Read More: A Love Affair With United Airlines
Actually, United ran two inaugural flights on June 7, 1995. One from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles, technically the first commercial flight, and the simultaneously the Denver to Chicago service.
Until only recently, the 777 (both in the 777-200 and newer 777-300ER variants) have been the backbone of the United Airlines longhaul fleet. The leaner 787 will take center stage in the pandemic era, but United has no plans to retire the 777.
The 777 has come a long way over its early days:
You can read my own United reviews of the 777-200 and 777-300 below:
- 777-200 Polaris Business Class Chicago To Frankfurt
- 777-300ER Business Class San Francisco To Sydney
- 777-200 Premium Plus San Francisco To Frankfurt
- 777-300ER Economy Class Frankfurt to San Francisco
- 777-300ER Polaris Business Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Also check out this video from the LHR-IAD inaugural flight:
CONCLUSION
The 777 is not my favorite plane, but I’ve flown it on more airlines around the world than any other aircraft. Happy 25th birthday 777! Here’s to another quarter century of safe flying!
What is your favorite 777 memory?
Roar of the PW engine thrust! Best, period!
Earned my 1MM status flying 777 ORD-LAX/SFO weekly when these aircraft were new. Flew maiden revenue flight on UA204. Still have tail #’s from 40 of the 60 UA777’s had at the time that I flew on. Only started tracking after 9/11. I estimate I flew the triple 7 200 times mostly domestic and a half dozen R/T’s to Europe. While I can’t prove it, I think I flew on every UA777 they had (200’s not 300’s), even the ones that went to Air India and Varig.
I think it was 50K R/T in F to Europe back then!
But it’s all about the PW roar.
My best 777 experience was flying Chicago – Hong Kong with my wife first class on Cathay Pacific. It was one of my earlier award bookings and I was so proud to secure two seats on the flight. When I observed to a flight attendant that we were the only people in first class, she noted that the flight was less than half full overall – we were flying on Chinese New Year. Womp womp. Still an amazing experience that set an almost impossibly high standard for other airlines.
Really? I think of it as a new plane…as opposed to the 767, which seemed kind of old to me, even from the day it rolled out of the factory.
I flew the 777 for the first time in June, 2000 – LGW-IAH on CO. Seatback IFE was still pretty rare in those days, and I remember being thrilled to have games to play and movies to watch the entire way home. Funny how little things like that were a big deal 20 years ago…
Ah, Connoisseur Class…that definitely was one of the more interesting names to brand a premium class with.
Did anyone watch that video haha what is going on there
LOL that Asian businessman in the marketing picture
I was going to say – no African Americans were featured.
Matthew,
You have a typo.
‘Actually, Untied ran two inaugural flights on June 7, 1995.’
Untied.
Thank you. Fixed.
Does anyone have photos of the F cabin on these planes?
So apparently that picture above may be FIRST CLASS, not business class. Wow.
Here are two other pictures:
https://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-777-222-ER/60056/L
https://www.airliners.net/photo/United-Airlines/Boeing-777-222-ER/60055
In either case, it appears the only difference at the time was that first class was 2-2-2 and business was 2-3-2. Seats look very similar…
Maybe someone who flew on this in a premium cabin can chime in?
Yes, the seats were very familiar. IIRC, first class was just a bit wider. First class seats had electronic seat controls. Connoisseur had manual seat controls.
Your picture in the article is definitely Connoisseur Class. There is a red square on the headrest cover. That red square was the sign for Connoisseur Class and was used on ticket covers and all other branding.
The First Class seats were blue. Dark blue.
Just saw your links. Yes, iirc, there were some grey seats, but I couldn’t remember where. Yes, first round was grey. Later UA switched to blue … a blue version of the grey.
I remember being a flight attendant working my first flight with my closest friend from training. She and I shared a beverage cart in economy. It was a late flight from SFO to DEN. No food, just drinks. Jennifer commented to me how strange it was to have a plane full of people and pure silence. Not even a baby crying. Everyone was in love with those seat back television screens. We were showing an NBC news short subject and an episode of Seinfeld. Only time customers made noise was the unison of laughter at the Seinfeld episode we were showing. I realized what a game changer United was to become with the 777 and our 3 class service. Those days were amazing.
Great memory. Thanks for sharing Peter!
Ah the 777. I love that aircraft. In 1995 iirc the 777 initial domestic routing was SFO-DEN-ORD-IAD. I managed to get a Connoisseur Class on the DEN-ORD leg. The seats were the brown ones you see in the pic in the post. Although not 180 degree flat, those seats were one of the most comfortable business class seats ever! I so enjoyed the seat and the flight.
The first class seats were blue in color and a bit wider. I did ride those a few times from LHR-SFO. I remember – prior to the 777 being launched – the First Class lounge at LHR T3 had a small room where you could get a time slot to try out the new first class seat. You then had to give your feedback.
I really miss the last incarnation of first class seats on the UA 777. Ah the memories.
I was lucky enough to be on board the first flight LHR to IAD. Was in the business class cabin as a guest of UA.
An amazing experience, fantastic atmosphere on board and I have just seen myself on the video.
I’ve still got the gifts, a polo shirt and an acrylic commemorative block.
I’ve loved the triple 7 ever since.