Tag Archives: 777-200lr

Qatar World Cup Special

The IAero 737 had diverted me to SEA but it also meant I was there when the Qatar 777-200LR was due in on its regular rotation.  It was a special painted up to celebrate the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.  (I don’t think we need to discuss Qatar hosting the World Cup, the timing of the event or the way in which the facilities have been built.). It was an overcast day which is not ideal for the colors of this plane against a grey sky but I think I was able to get something out of it.

Qatar 777-200LR

The gradual relaxation of travel restrictions means that there are more long haul jets showing up in Seattle.  Some are still just taking freight but passenger ops have expanded.  The reduced number of passengers does mean that smaller capacity jets will suffice for some routes.  Qatar has restarted operations to Seattle.  They are using their 777-200LRs for the time being.  I caught one as it was passing overhead on final approach.

Turkmenistan Gets the Last 777-200LR

I have posted a fair few things from an evening spent at Paine Field after work.  Ironically, the reason for actually being there is the last topic to get a post from that visit.  Boeing continues to build 777s ahead of the introduction to service (eventually) of the 777X.  Almost all deliveries are of the 777-300ER.  Its sister ship was the 777-200LR, a lower capacity plane with longer range to meet the need of extreme range operations.

None of these have been built for a while but one more was on order.  (The 777F is a variant of the 200LR and it continues to sell well.). This final 200LR was order by Turkmenistan.  Getting the last of the type was of some interest but an aircraft from Turkmenistan was more unusual so I wanted to see it.  Turned out it was on a test flight in the afternoon when the weather was nice and it was due back at the end of the day.

I thought it was going to mess with me.  When it showed up approaching the field, instead of lining up on approach, it flew across the approach path to the west.  However, this was just a feint and it then came back and flew an approach.  Not the most exciting of colors for an aircraft but the last of the line and an unusual country made it worth going – besides, it was a lovely evening so being out was worth it anyway!

Etihad 777-200LR in its Last Days

When Boeing developed its updates to the base versions of the 777, it came up with the higher capacity long range 300ER and a lower capacity but ultra long range version, the 200LR.  The 300ER sold very well but the 200LR was more of a niche product and, while it sold, it never went in the same numbers as its larger sibling.  Etihad was one of the customers but they have now decided they have no further use for the type and it is being retired.  I was glad to catch one at LAX in the days running up to their retirement.

Going Further Gets You There Quicker

The title of this post is a pretty weak premise for the pictures I am posting.  The pictures are of Air India Boeing 777-200LRs.  In the pictures, they are not doing anything special.  However, I shall justify the pictures with a slightly interesting fact.  Air India has been serving SFO for a while.  It is a long flight from Delhi to San Francisco and they were looking in to alternative routes.  A lot of negotiation ensued that finally allowed a polar route to be used.  This route is nearly 1,000nm longer than the route that they were previously flying.  However, the prevailing winds on the longer route are helping the jet along.  The result is that the longer route is actually two hours quicker.  Strange but true.