Happy 25th Birthday Boeing 777! Read This Inaugural Trip Report - Live and Let's Fly

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, Untied 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:

Also check out this video from the LHR-IAD inaugural flight:

CONCLUSION

The 777 is not my favorite plane, but I've down it on more airlines around the world than any other aircraft. Happy 25th birthday 777! Here's to another quarter century of safe flying!