The Boeing 777-300ER is the long-range, stretched 777 with the world's most powerful jet engines, seating about 350 to 400 passengers. American and United fly it in the US, and dozens of foreign airlines, from Emirates to Air Canada, bring them to US gateways daily.
777-300ER at a glance
- First flight
- 2003
- Length
- 242 ft 4 in (73.9 m)
- Wingspan
- 212 ft 7 in (64.8 m)
- Engines
- 2 × GE90-115B turbofans
- Seats
- ~350–400
- Cruise speed
- ~482 kt (555 mph) / Mach 0.84
- Service ceiling
- 43,100 ft
- Range
- ~7,370 nmi
How to recognize the 777-300ER
The 777-300ER is one of the longest airliners flying, and from the ground it looks it. The fuselage seems to go on forever behind the wing, and the engines are the biggest you will see on any twin-jet in regular service.
- Length: about 242 ft; compared with the 777-200ER, the body is clearly stretched both ahead of and behind the wing.
- Engines: two GE90-115B turbofans with fans about 10.7 ft (3.25 m) across. They are obviously round and gigantic, even at cruising altitude.
- Wingtips: raked wingtips that sweep back to a point, longer than the -200ER's tips. No winglets.
- Landing gear: six wheels on each main gear; on the ground the tail sits high and the long fuselage needs a tail skid for rotation.
- Tail cone: the 777's blade-shaped tail cone.
- Doors: five main doors per side.
- Sound and contrail: a loud, low rumble on takeoff and two very thick contrails at cruise.
The A350-900 is shorter, with a black-masked cockpit and curved wingtips. The 747-8 is longer still but has four engines and a hump.
Its sheer length is the biggest clue at a distance: the fuselage is clearly longer than the wingspan, and the six-wheel main gear bogies stand out on landing.
Where and when you'll see it
American (callsign AAL) and United (UAL) fly the 777-300ER on their flagship international routes from hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. Foreign airlines including Emirates, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Air India, EVA Air, Qatar and Turkish fly them into major US gateways. The freighter version, the 777F, shares the wing but uses a different type code (B77L).
Typical cruise is FL300 to FL400, often starting lower when heavy and stepping up. On ADS-B the type code is B77W and the emitter category is heavy. Gateway cities like New York and Los Angeles see dozens daily.
777-300ER departures to Asia and the Middle East often leave in the evening and arrive early the next morning, so you can see them climbing out over cities like Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Seattle in the late afternoon and evening.
Easily confused with
- Boeing 777-200 / 777-200ER: The 777-200ER is about 33 ft shorter with shorter wingtips.
- Airbus A350-900: The A350-900 has a black cockpit window mask and curved, upturned wingtips.
- Boeing 747-8 / 747-8F: The 747-8 has four engines and the famous upper-deck hump.
Quick facts
- The GE90-115B is the world's most powerful jet engine in service and set a thrust record of about 127,900 lbf in testing.
- Emirates operates the largest 777-300ER fleet in the world.
- The 777-300ER is longer than the original 747-400, though shorter than the 747-8.
777-300ER questions
What does the 'W' in B77W mean?
The ICAO code B77W designates the 777-300ER specifically, separating it from the earlier 777-300 (B773).
Is the 777-300ER bigger than a 747?
It is longer than the 747-400 but smaller overall; the 747 has a wider wing, four engines and more total cabin space.
Cities where it's a regular
New York City · Los Angeles · Chicago · Washington, D.C. · Miami · Boston · San Francisco · Honolulu
Spot one live
Open the live sky tool and look for B77W in the type column, or browse the live map on airplanes.live.