Swiss International Air Lines took delivery on March 13 of the final Boeing 777-300ER of their 10-aircraft order
Swiss International Air Lines took delivery of its 10th Boeing 777-300ER on March 13, completing the now-expanded order it originally placed in 2013. That order was for six aircraft; three more were added in 2015, and the final 777 was added in 2016, the same year the first jet in the batch was delivered to the airline.
The new jets, with a maximum range of 7,370 nautical miles, also offer lower operating costs than competing aircraft, making them a very attractive option on long-haul routes.
Swiss employees celebrate the delivery in Everett, Wash.
Swiss placed the order as part of a planned update to their long-haul fleet. The 340-seat 777-300ER is used on eight intercontinental routes, all making use of the airline’s Zurich hub: Bangkok, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, San Francisco, and Singapore. The airline also operates Airbus A330-300s and A340-300s on its long-haul routes.
The bold green tail in the sun at Paine Field
I was recently given the opportunity to check out EVA Air’s new livery on a brand new 777-300ER at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center. I have always been a fan of EVA’s green and orange livery, and I am quite impressed with the new design.
Although images of the new EVA Air livery had leaked on Twitter a while back, there is a big difference between viewing small images online and seeing a new livery in person. With a “Dreamliner-esque” line going down the entire fuselage, the new design is more evolutionary than revolutionary, but I think it works.
Although, at first glance, the new livery might appear to closely resemble the old one, upon closer look, one might notice a darker green on the belly of the aircraft and the removal of the orange on the rudder.
EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER, photographed on October 31, 2015 from Clay Lacy Astrovision Learjet – Photo: EVA Air
The changes at the airline are not just on the outside. This new design is part of EVA Air working to become a five-star airline in the next five years. To learn more about the airline’s future, not only did I have a chance to tour the inside and outside of their newest 777-300ER, but I also had a chance to sit down with their president, Austin Cheng, to get a better understanding of the airline’s future.
