By Kylie McLaughlin
The Boeing 777X launch on Friday.Credit: Twitter/DjsAvition
Boeing quietly unveiled their newest jetliner - the 777X - last week, despite the grounding of its fleet of 737 MAX 8s.
Dubbed the longest passenger jetliner in the world, the event was delayed for several days and kept low-key out of respect to the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash the previous week.
The debut was held on Friday at Boeing's manufacturing facility near Seattle.
The 777X will be 77 metres long and have a wingspan of 72 metres, making it longer and wider than the latest 747 jumbo jet.
The 777-9X will be the larger of the two models with three extra rows of seats and carry up to 425 passengers. It will be more fuel efficient and flies 400km further, giving it a range of more than 14,000km.
The second model, the 777-8X, will seat between 350-375 passengers and be able to fly more than 16,000km, which makes it a challenger to Airbus' A350, currently the world's longest-range jet.
Its increased performance comes from the advanced, super-aerodynamic wings. Made of carbon-composite materials, they will bend dramatically presenting a curve as seen on their Dreamliners.
The wings are so wide, they've presented a challenge getting them into current airport space, so Boeing created a unique wing-fold mechanism to enable them to fit.
The 777X will replace the 777-300ER, which typically carries 350- 400 passengers and is an essential part of the fleet for long-haul carriers such as Virgin Australia, Singapore and Emirates.
As a commercial airline, the Boeing model falls a little short on distance to be used for Qantas' 'Project Sunrise'.
Qantas aim to have non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to New York and London up-and-running by 2022.
See also: Boeing unveils extreme long-range private jet that can 'connect any two cities'
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