The 747 is well over 50 years old. As such, many airlines are retiring it and replacing it with Boeing’s other large airliner, the 777. As such, many have begun to wonder which is truly better, the 747 or 777?
Both aircraft have also had very successful careers as cargo aircraft, mostly due to their size. Many former passenger 747s and 777s have been converted into freighters and have continued their service life as such.
Boeing 747 vs 777: Boeing’s Largest Aircraft
Boeing has a vary long and detailed history of creating some of the world’s largest aircraft. Of the largest aircraft currently flying today, four of them were produced by Boeing.
This list includes the Boeing 377-derived Guppy line of freighters, the standard 747, standard 777 and the 747-derived Boeing Dreamlifter. Several previous Boeing aircraft were among the largest of their times too!
Boeing has continued this trend with both the 747 and 777, although the 747 is noticeably larger than the 777, just by looking at it!
Initially, this was not meant to be the case. The 747 was designed to be larger than its predecessors (a task it accomplished very well).
The 777, on the other hand, was never meant to be Boeing’s largest aircraft. Instead, it was meant to be a large, long range aircraft that could fill the market that the 747 was too big to fill.
However, the 747’s retirement is making the latter look more likely to become Boeing’s largest aircraft!
Boeing 747 vs 777: The Basics
Before we can compare both the 747 and 777, we first need to know a little background about both aircraft. In particular, we need to know why they were designed to be so big and what other purposes they serve!
747
In 1963, the USAF was looking for a large aircraft that could act as a cargo aircraft and occasionally as a troop transport, in an attempt to replace their ageing Lockheed C-141 fleet. To do this, they launched the CX-HLS program.
As with other aircraft manufacturers of the era, Boeing submitted their design. Although initially considered, the USAF chose to order Lockheed’s design, an aircraft that would eventually go on to become the C-5 Galaxy.
Just as with Boeing’s other failed aircraft, the project was shelved.
By the late 1950’s, the first generation of jet airliners had hit the market (including the Comet, 707 and DC-8). By the 1960’s, long range jet travel was cheaper than ever before, and more in demand than ever before!
As such, Pan Am president, Juan Trippe, approached Boeing for a new aircraft. The 707 and DC-8 (as well as other jets like the CV-880 and CV-990) were good, but they were relatively small. He wanted something bigger.
Remembering their failed cargo aircraft from 1963, Boeing took the project off the shelf and redesigned certain parts of the aircraft to fit the airline industry. After showing Juan Trippe the revised schematics, the 747 was born.
The 747 would first fly on February 9 1969, conducting a series of flights to test the aircraft. A year later, in January 1970, the 747 would be entered into service with Pan Am, before being entered into service with other airlines.
777
By the 1970’s, the first generation of jet aircraft were slowly being withdrawn from service, and replace by second generation jets. The introduction of these second generation jets posed an issue to Boeing.
Whilst the 757 and 767 had taken over the roles of the 707 and DC-8 respectively, as well as many 727 routes, many new gaps had appeared.
Airlines had begun to seek a new type of aircraft, larger than the 757 and 767, but smaller than the 747. This birthed the DC-10 and later MD-11 from Douglas/McDonnell Douglas and the TriStar from Lockheed.
Boeing attempted to counter this by making the a shorter variant of the 747, all to no avail. As such, they realized that they had to create an aircraft that was smaller than the 747, but had better economics that the DC-10 and L-1011.
By the late 1980’s, these models had all reached their retirement age, and Boeing looked once again to create a long range, mid-size airliner. Originally, the idea of the 767-X was floated, but airlines weren’t interested.
As such, Boeing designed a new aircraft completely from scratch. This aircraft was originally a trijet, but once ETOPs had been implemented, it was a twin jet. Eventually, this would become the 777.
This aircraft would first fly on June 12 1994, and gain FAA certification later on that same year. The 777 would then enter service with the type’s launch customer, United Airlines, in June 1995.
Boeing 747 vs 777: Specs
Both the 747 and 777 have been among Boeing’s most successful aircraft. As such, both aircraft have been modified extensively, both to compete with competing aircraft and to fit with their customers’ demands.
This has created several variants of both aircraft, many of which are still flying to this day.
By far the most common variant of the 747 is the 747-400, which remains as one of only two 747 variants still operating regularly scheduled passenger flights for the world’s major airlines.
The most common variant of the 777 is the 777-300, currently serving as both a cargo and passenger aircraft. However, primarily as a passenger aircraft.
| Specifications | 747-400 | 777-300 |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 231 ft 10 in (70.66 m) | 242 ft 4 in (73.86 m) |
| Wingspan | 211 ft 5 in (64.4 m) | 212 ft 7 in (64.80 m) |
| Height | 63 ft 8 in (19.4 m) | 60 ft 8 in (18.5 m) |
| Seats | 416 | 365 |
| Cruise Speed | 0.855 Mach (933 km/h; 656 mph; 504 kn) | 0.84 Mach (892 km/h; 645 mph; 482 kn) |
| Range | 7,670 nmi (8,826 mi; 14,200 km) | 7,370 nmi (8,481 mi; 13,649 km) |
| MTOW | 910,000 lb (412.8 t) | 775,000 lb (351.5 t) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,100 ft (13,700 m) | 43,100 ft (13,100 m) |
| Takeoff | 10,700 ft (3,260 m) | 10,000 ft (3,050 m) |
Boeing 747 vs 777: Safety
After looking at the specs of the two aircraft, it may be tempting to call a winner immediately. However, we still need to look at both the 747 and 777’s safety record beforehand…
747
On occasion, Boeing has had issues with the safety records of some of their aircraft, including the recent 737 MAX. However, the 747 doesn’t seem to have that same issue.
In fact, of all the aircraft flying today, you are least likely to die on a 747 as it is one of the safest aircraft currently flown. At least in terms of crashes per hours flown, the 747 is Boeing’s safest aircraft ever!
As of the time of writing, the 747 has been involved in 166 aviation incidents. In this, there have been 63 hull losses, which has resulted in 3746 fatalities. Sadly, many of these crashes have been very high profile, mostly due to the death toll.
Luckily, many of these crashes occurred with older variants of the 747, including both the 747-100 and 747-200. Thankfully, these are the 747 variants which have been retired.
Many of these crashes were as a result of issues with the rear bulkhead door locking mechanism. Essentially, the rear bulkhead door didn’t lock properly, but gave a false reading that it was locked to the cockpit.
Upon reaching cruising altitude, the rear bulkhead door would open, causing explosive decompression. This would suck passengers out of their seats and to their death.
This has been fixed on the 747-100s and 747-200s, as well as having been completely redesigned for subsequent 747 variants.
777
Similarly to the 747, the 777 is one of the world’s safest aircraft. One of its original purposes was to replace the dangerous first and second generations of jet aircraft, with a safer type of aircraft.
As of the time of writing, the 777 has been involved in only 29 aviation incidents, involving in eight hull losses, resulting in only 541 fatalities. This makes it incredibly safe compared to other aircraft.
As if this wasn’t good enough, the vast majority of these have involved the original 777-200, although a few have involved subsequent variants (mostly these were down to unforeseeable errors).
Unless you are flying on a smaller carrier, it is very unlikely that you’ll fly on the 777-200, as most of these have been retired by most large carriers. Instead, you’ll fly on the even safer 777-200ER, -300, or -300ER.
The new 777X is expected by Boeing to be even safer than the already safe, previous 777 variants. However, only time will tell if this is to be the case…
Boeing 747 vs 777: Today
As mentioned before, both the 747 and 777 have deviated from their initial roles. At heart, the 747 is a 1960’s aircraft, making it well over 50 years old, whilst the 777 is a 1980’s aircraft, recently celebrating 25 years.
747
Today, many airlines are retiring their 747 fleets. For many of them, the aircraft have outlived their purpose. The hub and spoke theory that the 747 was designed around no longer exists, and airlines know this.
Plus, quadjets are comparatively slower and are more expensive to operate than their twinjet counterparts. This is in terms of both fuel and maintenance.
As of the time of writing, all of the 747-100s, 747SPs and most of the 747-200s have been retired. Many of these aircraft now call the world’s various aircraft graveyards their home.
Many 747-300s have similarly been retired, although, some are still flown as passenger aircraft. The vast majority of those 747-300s currently flying do so as freighters, having been converted in the early 1990’s.
The 747-400 is still flown by many airlines, although, due to the coronavirus pandemic, many airlines have retired them. Nevertheless, the 747-400 is still a common airliner as well as a freighter.
Boeing’s newest, and likely last variant of the 747 is the 747-8. Similarly to the 747-400, many -8s have been retired, however, many are similarly in service, primarily as freighters, but also as airliners.
777
For the most part, the initial 777-200s have been retired in recent years. Subsequent 777s have made the earlier generations irrelevant, and have seen many of them sent to the aircraft graveyards.
Nevertheless, many are still in operation with smaller airlines. A few also operate as converted cargo freighters as well. Many 777-200s have been replaced by either the 777-200ER or the 777-300/-300ER.
A couple of the original 777-200ERs have been replaced by the larger 777-300ERs with some the world’s largest airlines. However, many of these aircraft have simply been sold on to smaller airlines.
Boeing have recently released the 777X. This is a completely redesigned variant of the 777-300, incorporating much of the technology found in the 787. As well as new engines and a new cockpit.
On January 25 2020, the 777X performed its first flight. As of the time of writing, Boeing is still conducting these test flights. If certified on schedule, Boeing expects that the 777X will be delivered sometime in 2022.
Boeing 747 vs 777: Opinions
As usual, we asked several different groups of people their opinion on one simple question: “747 vs 777?” Here’s what they said…
Pilots
I was able to interview many 747 and 777 pilots about their respective aircraft for this article, including former 747 pilot (and International Aviation HQ Editor-in-Chief) Christopher Harrow.
Naturally, Harrow and his fellow 747 pilots preferred the 747 over the 777. At the same time, many 777 pilots preferred the 777 to the 747, often using much of the same logic and reasoning behind them.
Luckily, I was able to interview a former United 777 captain who’d started out on the 747. When the airline had gotten rid of their 747s in 2015, he retrained on the 777, flying some of the same routes.
When I asked him, he said that whilst the 747 was more iconic than the 777 by a long shot, the 777 was more modern. With this, the 777 was easier for him to fly, although he did miss certain aspects of the 747 on the 777.
Passengers
As per usual, I also interviewed several frequent flyers who fly on the 747 and 777 regularly. For some, they do this for business (so are in business / first class) whilst others do it for vacations (and are often in economy).
For the vast majority of those who fly the two aircraft in business / first class, they preferred the 777. This is due to the number of extra amenities that are provided in these classes on the 777 that aren’t on the 747.
A few also said they preferred the 747 in business / economy class because of how the seats are often bigger on the 747 than they are in the 777 (according to them anyway!)
Many who flew in economy class were split. Some preferred the 747 for having more general amenities, whilst others preferred the speed of the 777, which the 747 is lacking in.
Avgeeks
As usual, I asked the aviation enthusiast community as to their opinions on the matter. As usual, the question of “747 vs 777?” did incite a lot of debate, with many avgeeks immediately preferring one or the other.
For many of the avgeeks, the 747 was the preferred aircraft. Many of them found that whilst the 777 was cheaper and was more suited to the modern day, the 747 made up for this with just how iconic it is!
On the other hand, many of the avgeeks preferred the 777. Whilst they acknowledged that the 747 was iconic, it is outdated. It is simply not suited to people want to fly today.
On top of that, many also spoke about the 777’s specs. More importantly they spoke about how similar the 747 and 777’s specs were. However, the 777 was still cheaper to operate, and apparently felt faster (even though it isn’t!)
C-Suite Executives
It may seem weird as to why I’d ask C-Suite executives as to their opinions on both the 747 and 777, even if their business was involved in the aviation industry. But it’s fairly self-explanatory really… private jets.
Whilst most businesses are content with a Gulfstream or a Bombardier or an Embraer, some want a so-called bizliner. I decided to ask a few C-Suite executives of relatively large companies (who have their own private jets) as to which they’d prefer to fly on.
For the vast majority of them, the 747 BBJ was their preference. Despite being more expensive to operate per hour, many of them said it was worth it for the headlines and for how amazing it would be!
A few did say that the 777 BBJ would be their preference, as it could hold roughly the same amount of people, for much less money. It would also be more practical as it could fly to airports with noise restrictions or short runways.
Summary
The 777 is both longer in length than the 747, as well as having a longer wingspan. No surprisingly, the 777 is shorter than the 747, however, it isn’t as short as you’d expect, it’s only three feet shorter.
Unsurprisingly, the 747 has the ability to carry more people, due to it being only marginally larger than the 777. With this extra size, comes extra weight, with the 747 being almost 150,00 lb heavier than the 777.
As a result of the 747 being heavier, it requires a longer runway to both land and takeoff from. Due to this extra weight, the 747 needs four very powerful engines, which help the 747 in other ways…
The 747 has not only a longer range (albeit by only a small margin) but the 747 is also faster than the 777. The 747 also has a higher service ceiling than the 777, which helps it travel faster.
Boeing 747 vs 777: Which is truly Boeing’s best large jet? Tell me in the comments!