Boeing has officially begun series production of the 777-8 Freighter at its widebody factory in Everett, Washington. About 100 Boeing employees gathered inside the 777X Composite Spar Shop on July 21 to observe as a robotic arm ceremoniously drilled the first hole in a 777-8F wing spar.
It is the first of 938 holes that will be drilled into every wing spar assembled at that location, explained Ben Linder, vice president and chief engineer for Boeing’s 777 and 777-8F programs. Drilling all 938 holes with the automated robot arm, which Boeing calls the Spar Assembly Robotic Cell (SPAC), will take five eight-hour shifts, he told reporters at the Everett facility.
Wing spars serve as the “backbone” of an airplane’s wing, and each wing has two 108-foot-long spars, one in the front and one in the back. Fabricating each of these composite wing spars requires 392 miles of carbon fiber tape, according to Boeing. While the wing spar itself was fabricated in Everett earlier this month, Boeing traditionally recognizes the first hole drilled on the assembly line as the official start of production.
“It may seem small, [but] it's that one hole…that gets everything started,” said Jason Clark, 777/777X vice president and general manager. “All the work that goes into starting a program, the years of development, the years of engineering, the years of supply chain, procurement, and contracting, and all the other pieces—the blood, sweat, and tears—all that innovation comes together and is represented in the first in that first hole.”
Introduced in 2022, the 777-8F is the third and newest member of Boeing’s 777X family of long-range widebodies, which feature composite wings with folding wingtips and are powered by GE Aerospace’s GE9X engines. Boeing is also producing a passenger-carrying 777-8 airliner, which is a shortened derivative of the 777-9. Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) will also produce luxury bizliner variants of both the 777-8 and 777-9, collectively known as the BBJ 777X.
The first 777X variant to enter service will be the 777-9 airliner, which began for-credit certification testing at Boeing Field in Seattle about a year ago. Boeing expects to make the first 777-9 deliveries in 2026, followed by the first 777-8s in 2028. When the company first announced the 777X program in 2013, it planned to begin delivering the aircraft in 2019, but multiple setbacks have delayed its development.
According to Boeing, the 777-8F will be the world’s largest and “most capable” twin-engine freighter with the highest payload capacity and lowest operating cost. It is expected to deliver a 30% reduction in fuel burn and emissions compared to the airplanes it is intended to replace, such as the 747, 767, and legacy 777s. It will compete with the new Airbus A350F, which is expected to enter service in 2027.
Boeing aircraft currently provide more than 90% of the global air freighter capacity, Linder said. The company’s commercial market outlook for 2025 projected a 67% increase in the global freighter fleet by 2044, including 885 large widebodies.
Since Boeing announced the 777-8F variant in 2022, the manufacturer has received firm orders for 59 777-8Fs from airlines and cargo carriers around the world, including Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, ANA, Cargolux, and Silk Way West.