Expect the unexpected they say. But if and when you find a chance to board a Boeing 777X as a passenger, expect the expected: a smooth and comfortable aviation experience.
“You are going to find that the ride is very smooth,” Capt Heather Ross, Boeing’s deputy chief pilot for the 777 and 777X programme, told The National on board the test aircraft on Sunday. “You will find it is a very comfortable ride … a comfortable experience.”
Parked on the tarmac at the Dubai Airshow, which is being held at Dubai World Central, the sheer size of the aircraft is impressive to say the least.
However, it is difficult to imagine a smoother ride or envision comfort while standing in the middle of a cabin lined up with water tanks, where rows of passengers seats should be.
Equipment stations to gauge the performance of the test aircraft were dotted throughout the length of the jet, where perhaps service galleys will be set up once it enters commercial service.
Boeing engineers, pilots and its public relations team were also eager to warn visiting media of “tripping hazards” on board the test plane.
But Capt Ross, who flew the jet from Seattle to Dubai on Tuesday, its longest and first international flight, said the ride quality features have been migrated from its 787 jet and will offer a better experience than that of the legacy Boeing 777 aircraft.
“We have some additional features – ride-quality features that are on this plane and on 787s,” she said.
The jet, once it goes into commercial service, will come in two variations – the 777-8 and the 777-9.
The 777-8 will seat between 350 and 375 passengers while the bigger variant can carry between 400 and 425 passengers, both in a two-class configuration.
There is more room available in the cabin of 777-9 variant. It is four inches wider, even though it has the same exterior circumference as the older aircraft. Boeing has sculpted interior walls for additional space, all the way to back of the cabin.
The Boeing 777X, which made its maiden flight in January 2020, is equipped with two GE 9X engines that are smaller than those on the older 777ER variant, which makes it more fuel efficient – 12 per cent better on fuel consumption and 10 per cent lower on operating costs than its competition, according to the US plane maker.
Its features include folding wing tips, allowing for an extended span of seven metres to maximise fuel efficiency.
Bringing the test plane to Dubai, which was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow in 2013 amid much fanfare, was “exciting for the entire team”, Capt Ross said.
“We have been working really hard for the past couple of years, executing our flight test programme,” she said.
“We have been making good progress, all through the pandemic. Our team continued to operate [as] we found ways to be able to fly the plane safely. We have done that and that has been kind of phenomenal.”
The company has flown its 777X test plane every day, she said, declining to say how far Boeing is into its test programme, or when the 777X may receive the US aviation regulator’s safety certification for commercial operations.
Emirates, the world biggest long-haul airline, has 126 Boeing 777X jets on order and is holding discussions with the Chicago-based plane maker “before and during” the Dubai Airshow about the aircraft, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group, said earlier this month.
Boeing's move to bring the 777X in Emirates' backyard comes amid the airline's growing impatience over the aircraft's delay.
On Sunday, Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline was rethinking its fleet plans, including delivery schedules and the number of planes on order.
Emirates could seek to accelerate handovers of the Airbus A350 amid a lack of clarity on Boeing’s 777X delivery schedule, he told Bloomberg at Airshow.
“We will be looking at what the outcome is of the Boeing discussions we are about to have to see how far they have got on,” Mr Clark said.
“We are talking to Airbus about what the reality of the situation is and during the course of the next few days, we will decide what we are going to do.”
However, Capt Ross said Boeing is “moving the ball” on the jet's flight tests and “the truth of the matter is that we are making a good progress”.
We have been working really hard for the last couple of year, executing our flight test programme
Captain Heather Ross,
deputy chief pilot for 777 and 777X programme, Boeing
Pilots trained to fly the current global fleet of Boeing 777s – and all its variants – should also find it easy to transition to the new-age jet.
“We do have a ‘differences training’ programme and that will help pilots transition from the 777, what we call the legacy or classical plane, to this,” she said.
The new jet, also has commonalities with the Boeing 787 and a similar training programme could help those pilots to transition as well.
“Some of the interactions are a little bit different on this one,” Capt Ross said.
“As far as the way the plane handles, it is very similar to 777 legacy [jets] or even 787s. Flight controls are adjusted for weight and the geometry and it is really very comfortable.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
----
Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
----
Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Pathaan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Siddharth%20Anand%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20John%20Abraham%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
more from Janine di Giovanni
TICKETS
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')
Man of the Match Allan (Everton)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
