When the Boeing 777-200LR broke a nonstop world record

On 10 November 2005 a Boeing 777-200LR landed on London Heathrow Airport (LHR) after flying more than halfway around the world without stopping to refuel. “long distance” Departed from Triple Seven hong kong airport (HKG) on November 9 for a 22-hour, 42-minute trip around the world. The jet was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as flying 11,664 nautical miles (21,601 km or 13,422 mi).

Boeing’s chief test pilot for the 777, Captain Susannah Darcy-Heinemann, will have the honor of piloting aircraft N6066Z from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the islands of the United Kingdom in the Atlantic Ocean. According to This Day in Aviation, she was also the first female production test pilot in Boeing history.

“Worldliner,” As Boeing dubbed the new model, it was powered by two General Electric GE90-115B engines, which were the most powerful commercial turbofan engines on any airliner in the world until recently surpassed by the new GE9X. This model will be the fifth version of the 777 family, and will be capable of connecting virtually any two cities on Earth.

Boeing created history again

route of The Worldliner Before reaching the shores of North America, it moved eastward across the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong, crossing the International Date Line (IDL). The aircraft continued over the mid-North Atlantic Ocean until it reached London.

Lars Andersen, vice president and program manager of the 777 program for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, provided the following comments in the company’s press release following the record-setting flight:

“The 777 has been a leader in its market since it first entered service. The 777-200LR Worldliner continues to lead the market by providing unmatched capacity that allows airlines to offer passengers nonstop routes to their destinations.”

This Day in Aviation records that the 777’s average speed was 981 kilometers per hour (609 mph) from Los Angeles to New York and 910 kilometers per hour (565 mph) from New York to London.

In 2008, Captain Darcy-Hahnemann became chief pilot for Boeing Commercial Airplane Services, and was later inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2010. She was the first woman to earn a Captain’s rating on the 747-400, and earned ratings on the 737, 757, 767, and 777 series jets during her career.

He made this statement after the historic flight of the Worldliner, a 777-200LR:

“The performance of the 777-200LR during the record flight was exceptional. It took the support of a great team of people to make this historic flight a success. I am proud to be part of that team.”

The 777-200LR broke the previous distance record set in 1989 by the 747-400, which flew 9,200 nautical miles (17,039 km) non-stop from London to Sydney. It also surpassed the 777-200ER (Extended Range), which flew 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 km) from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur in 1997, despite being a heavier jet than the -200ER.

Worldliner by numbers

The first production model was delivered in 2006 with a 301 seat capacity and a normal service range of 9,420 nautical miles (17,445 kilometres). Ultimately, only 61 aircraft would be produced due to the highly specialized market. highly specific purpose of flight ultra long The routes will serve only a very limited pool of potential customers and itineraries that require the capabilities of the aircraft.

The aircraft’s design prioritized high maximum fuel capacity for takeoff, which meant it sacrificed payload for greater fuel capacity to achieve its exceptional range. On most routes where its full range was not required, this hindered its economic desirability. Three fuel tanks were installed in the cargo area to keep the aircraft in the air.

The 777-200LR has become a very successful freighter aircraft that is still in production, while its more popular counterpart, the -300ER, has ceased production. The aircraft’s weight-to-volume characteristics make it ideal for freighter transport, and some older passenger -200LRs are also being converted into freighters.

Despite the end of passenger production, the 777-200LR airframe has been successful in the cargo market. The -200LR airframe serves as the foundation for the Boeing 777 Freighter (777F). It uses the fuselage length of the -200LR but the larger gross weight and wingspan of the -300ER.

Boeing Embodying American Ingenuity

The Boeing 777, known as the “Triple Seven” family, was instrumental in the advancement of safety and engineering advances that have led to larger, long-range twinjets replacing older quadjet aircraft on international routes. The four-engine, iconic 747 jumbo jet and the Airbus A380 super jumbo are slowly falling by the wayside as airlines favor modern twin-engine widebodies.

The baseline 777-200 was the first aircraft type to receive ETOPS-180 certification when it first entered service in 1995, the most notable contribution of the Triple Seven family. In 2011, the -200LR and -300ER types helped achieve type-design approval for ETOPS by 330 minutes.

The pilot who took the -200LR into the sky for the first time was Captain Darcy Heineman. He said this after its successful first flight:

“The ability of the 777-200LR to connect the world is amazing. Flying the first flight is an honor and a rare opportunity.”

The Triple-Seven revolutionized nonstop commercial air service. The long-range model made possible ideal, straight-line routes between almost any two cities in the world. The jets also allowed airlines to fly to areas that were once limited to twinjets, such as in the South Pacific and southern Indian Ocean.

Worldliner is paving the way

The 777-200LR and 777-300ER (Extended Range) were developed concurrently as part of the Worldliner program and shared a strong engineering similarity. Both aircraft were equipped with identical GE90 engines, allowing their incredible payload and range.

The high maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) required for both aircraft was achieved for the first time on a world liner with its reinforced landing gear and strengthened wings. The supercritical airfoil and raked wingtips featuring both the -300ER and -200LR were first tested on flights by Worldliner.

The legacy of the Triple Seven family directly contributed to the 777X, 787 Dreamliner, and other modern jetliners, along with major advances in the use of computer-aided design (CAD) software (CATIA). The 777 jet was the first commercial aircraft designed entirely with CAD.

This method proved that a complex aircraft could be designed and assembled virtually. A process that later became standard practice and was refined for the 787 program, allowing even greater accuracy and reducing the need for expensive physical mock-ups.

The 777’s advanced fly-by-wire systems and integrated avionics laid the groundwork for the 787’s even more advanced, electric-heavy architecture. The -200LR proved the feasibility of ultra-long-haul routes with twinjets, a capability the 787 and 777X continue to improve upon. The 77X aims for even greater fuel efficiency and range, incorporating 787 cabin features such as larger windows, LED lighting, new cabin styling and improved humidity control.

The use of raked wingtips on the -200LR was a precursor to the 777X’s advanced, longer carbon-fibre composite wing which is equipped with industry-first folding wingtips. The expertise gained from operating the powerful GE90 engines on the -200LR and -300ER led directly to the development of the next generation GE9X engines for the 777X.

Boeing’s rare bird

Seeing the 777-200LR in the “wild” is a pleasure for plane watchers, as it is one of the rarest commercial airplanes still in service today. This aircraft is seen only at select international hubs in India, Canada, the Middle East and South America. The routes include some of the major centers in the United States, spanning between the East Coast and the West Coast.

Currently only a few airlines keep the aircraft in their inventory. According to Planespotters.net, the list includes:

The operators most frequently using Worldliner are Air India, Air Canada and Qatar Airways. These airlines found the aircraft’s incredible range exceptionally useful as all of their nonstop routes exceed the 7,000 nautical mile range.

At a distance of 8,691 nautical miles, Air India’s Bengaluru-San Francisco route remains the farthest scheduled 777-200LR journey. Air Canada’s Vancouver-Sydney flight is 7,755 nm long, and Qatar Airways’ Doha-São Paulo flight is 7,368 nm long.

Each airline concentrates its capacity on a few high-value destinations. Traffic data shows strong demand for these carefully selected destinations. According to Cirium data, in April 2025, a total of 440 flights and 124,556 seats were accumulated on all -200LR routes.