OLDEST Boeing 777 in Service | Line Number 2 | N774UA | Orlando to Chicago | Trip Report 

Why did the Boeing Triple seven break up with its airplane partner? Because it wanted a more "plane" relationship!

That’s incredible. My flight instructor flew with United until 2018 and flew the ferry flight for this very aircraft, flying on her from 1995 until his last way in Nov 2018. Thank you for your service on this great bird.

I've been a passenger on it! Wonder how many people have a connection to this plane! Assuming 28 years, 2 flights a day with 250 people on board is over 5M people

Are you sure it was this very one? he said the lavatory had matter and stains stuck in crevasses in the various lids, and designs of the human litter box.

@@IcyHOTCatholicNow that was “plane” funny .😂😂😂 It was so funny, it flew right over my head🤣🤣🤣

Might want to edit your comment as you’ve got the date wrong “…. coin given for the first 777 given sometime during the rollout of the first 777 on April 9, 1977.” Obviously a typo - congratulations on what sounds like a great career at Boeing. By the sounds of it, Quality Control isn’t what it was in your day with the 737 Max issues they’ve been having so you may want to go back and sort them out 👍🏻

@@davepage1151 Thank you I corrected it from 1977 to 1994

@@davepage1151he just had 77 on the mind

I salute you for your great service to Aviation and United Airlines. I’ve flown many kinds of aircraft including Russian built Ilyushin turbo props since childhood in the 1950s. These were some of the worst aircraft imaginable. I’ll disagree with you on just one point. While the 777-300 is a remarkable aircraft, the newest version of the 747 is better! Of course only Lufthansa, Korean and Air China fly the 747-8. It incorporates many of the same materials and technology present in the Dreamliner. It also has 4 engines (losing one engine in flight is not a big problem!) and with its aesthetically beautiful and unique hump, it is the Queen…in my opinion! Climb that staircase to the second floor and you feel the real strength and size of the Queen. All hail, the Queen! Flew last fall to/from Auckland Economy Plus on the 777-300. Again it was good, but not the Queen! In my opinion only two other aircraft have ever come close to being as aesthetically pleasing as the Queen. They are the L1049 Lockheed Constellation and the venerable DC3. I have flown on these several times too! Do you have a favorite airline now that you’ve retired? In the old days mine was Pan American World Airways. Great service!! The launch customer of the 747, but before that many great DC8s and 707s. Nowadays my favorite is Singapore Airlines! Btw, my Great Aunt was named June Hudgens. She passed away only a few months ago in Reno, but was a very senior stewardess at United, mostly on international runs. Like you, she was proud to work for United Airlines for so many years and do an outstanding job!

@@alanmiller9681 Oh man that is rough as I like several airlines and all are equal as a favorite. I enjoyed the 777-300ER of Air New Zealand, I also flown on a 747-200 on a military charter provided by Flying Tigers, along with a 747-200 flown by Northwest Airlines and another military charter going and from Saudia Arabia with which was a Pan-Am. Recent airlines was EVA Airline 787=9 flown from Seattle to Taipei Sorry but I never fly that one again as the comfort was absolutely terrible on the seats that were installed. I have also flown on 777-200ER by United and that was very comfortable from San Francisco to Chicago. The Asiana 767-300ER I flew on from even an older plane was very comfortable from Manila to Incheon What is really surprising was the comfort of the Asiana A350-900 that I flew on three years ago from Seattle to Incheon Korea. comfortable seats. Since my wife is a Filipina we do go Manila every 3 years or so I also think that the Qatar A380 I traveled on a few years ago was a nice plane but the flight attendants were a moody bunch.

the 777 and A380 both.. im in full agreement though.. its extremely sad to see where Boeing has gone since the 90s (which I believe to be the fact that McDonnell Douglas's board/executives taking similar positions after the merger in 1997).. and i hope they can get back to that point soon

no one knows what caused the MH370 crash. Only educated guesses

@@bubz4196at this point, the evidence points to only one outcome - pilot murder/suicide. I guess that’s still technically an “educated guess” however.

Sure, but absolutely none of the alternative scenarios point to the 777 itself to be at fault @@bubz4196

and of course, since those two Boeing crashes were *737* Maxes, the 777 was (and is) miles away and totally (mercifully) unrelated to the ongoing series of failures in the 737-MAX family of disasters and embarrassments, the latest being last week's blowout of the "plug" of the midplane emergency exit

Only good thing is a organized ground transportation area

You sir, are correct. they need to rebuild the entire airport… except for Terminal C which is fairly new

Ever been to Newark Liberty?

I just went to terminal c it was super nice and modern

i would say miami airport

Delta got rid of their 777s about 3 years ago.

Delta retired their 777s and replaced them with the A350

@@zekeonstormpeak4186 Yeah, but they still fly the 767, 757s

747-200s are 50 years old at this point.

The 777 was the last proper plane Boeing built. Alan Mulally was at the helm as CEO. He was a proper engineer. He also brought Ford back from the brink after leaving Boeing. Goes to show what a CEO that knows and cares about the product can do versus some MBA type CEO running the company into the ground trying to save Pennies by removing the break room coffee machine

@@jtoddk98 Agree! Now compare that to Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines wants to emphasize that Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) guided racial and gender quotas are the key considerations when determining who will be piloting your upcoming flight. NO! We want the best pilots PERIOD!

Waow N312US built in Toulouse 1991. That’s a year before I started my aviation apprenticeship at Bombardier SHORTS in Northern Ireland in aircraft production. Working in the US now doing heavy structural maintenance and modifications. Love hearing about these older aircraft still in service. I have worked on alot of now retired 737 classics for Southwest at a big maintenance repair station.

Agreed! She’s served them well and hope she stays around a little while longer!

You sure it is N774UA but not N784UA or N794UA instead ? As N774UA is a non ER bird that don't have range to cross the pacific

Interesting point, but there are several sources documenting flights to both Tokyo Narita and Nagoya. Both cities are within the range of non-ER planes from SFO. Not sure what sort of margin UA requires. Thanks for the comment.

@@jamessarjeant2670 N774UA is a XD as noticed nose number 2474 (24xx are XD as in IPTE 3 class non ER), base in ORD and IAD at the time to fly short transatlantic flights to Europe, only once in a blue moon, a 24xx 772 would get to SFO as ORD-SFO-ORD in between international flights to Europe. UA 830/831 was ORD-SFO-NGO, both two legs use XJ (27xx) or XP (26xx) or XQ (28xx)

Thats awesome! Yea, it’s something I wish i did years ago too, but now with technology, its much easier to remember and keep track of the reg’s. Thanks for watching!

Thanks much! He did go full throttle with it!!

That’s amazing! I’ve seen Eastern fly to and from Miami, just haven’t caught it on film. Hope to soon!

Thank you!

And UAL N777UA is still flying today

True statement but N774UA line #2 was first a test airframe that Boeing and United used to certify the 777 then it had to be refurbished and modified to production standard aircraft. I know. worked on that aircraft at Boeing as a factory line mechanic

N777UA, delivered to United May 1995, first revenue flight was on June 7, 1995 from Denver to Chicago O’hare. Its second flight was on June 8, 1995 from Chicago O’hare to Frankfort Germany. I know this cause I was on that flight.

Not that uncommon

We agree.

Thank you!!

Incredible fact, thank you. Great to know and shocked that the 321 is that old! Still going very strong like the 777 and 320!

@@XLRSAv I was shocked as well. For me that's still a new bird

Of course! I also miss Channel 9 where you could hear ACT communications…may it be missed. I wish United would paint one of their older aircraft (maybe even this one) in the Battleship Grey livery that had until the Tulip Livery and Continental merger livery. Thanks for commenting.

These seats are horizontal flat but not angle flat, debuted back in 2006 which they called IPTE = international premium travel experience, before that was barcalounger which was just a recliner but doesn't even go flat

Ooh! Wish i could’ve flown her. Seen a a few times at Pima and plan to make a short walk around video of her!

Thank you! Love the Caribbean and your channel! Great spotting.

Stayed in the Hyatt at TPA a little while back and it was nice being able to sort of step right into the terminals.

For sure! Man, i really wish 747-400 pax were still around with UA, DL, BA, KLM, and Wamos. They were beautiful and so comfortable to fly on. At least we still have LH for a short time as the largest operator.

@@XLRSAv I live in Sydney and flew the QF 747 many times over the years. It was the staple of their fleet for long haul. When QF retired their last 747 in July 2020, they did a farewell tour and you could book a seat on them for a scenic flight. I was lucky enough to get on the Sydney flight. Very nostalgic and something I’ll never forget.

@@duffman7065 Wow, how amazing that must have been. Seeing photos of the QF queens in the Mojave desert or being scrapped brings be to tears.

@@XLRSAv Yep, the deserve better

Indeed! Hope she’s around a while longer.

Thank you! I agree they stuck that landing!

@@XLRSAv They did as good as me in PTFS (pilot training flight simulator) roblox.

@@Larson4248plays 😂.Im sure you’re a pro in there!

@@XLRSAv Not as acurate as MSFS 2020 though. (I dont play because I dont have controls or the game)

I agree with you on that and than you!

GE blades stay in 1 piece

Fantastic!

They don build em like they used to kid. Dem glory days are long gone

Boeing is an entirely different company these days. They must return to their roots.

@@4ndroidG trust the CEO he's the smartest guy in the room

That’s awesome! If you’d like to share them, we have Instagram. You can DM us there.

Beautiful! I’ve always wanted to fly the 340

@@XLRSAv I'm going on a -600 for the first time in May and again a -300 April. Slow climb but quiet in air.

@@REPOMAN24722 Ooh! If you could, please DM us on instagram @xlrsaviation photos and or videos! We love the 340. Our favorite (and only) single level quad jet still in pax service.

@@XLRSAv Will take a video of both, I'm in economy hope I get a good seat, doubt they will let me see the cockpit haha, I'll catch the registration to see which one I'm on, Lufthansa on both, they have names on the plane so it should be easy to find it on planes spotters. Last 300 I was on was swiss pre refurbish they plan on keeping them for a while I think Lufthansa will dump them to Swiss at the end of the year.

I’d love to fly on them! They semi-regularly come to ORD.

only reason I see why is high density travel around the holidays.

Ha! That’s awesome! Funny enough, we had eh been able to spot 774UA before this report and they randomly got booked ok it! Originally was booked on 777UA and 210UA.

Yes of course! These humps on the top of airliners here in the U.S. is a WiFi or internet connection probe. In other words, it allows for cellular service at cruising altitude so in flight entertainment is available.

United flies this aircraft on high density domestic routes such as ORD - IAH, ORD - LAX, ORD - SFO, ORD - MCO, and EWR - LAX and SFO during selective flights. If you have flight radar 24, filter for 777-200s midday and you will see the flights.

Indeed they do. I just asked the flight attendant and she let me know all up to the flight deck. As i mentioned, pilots may be caught off guard if you do y talk with them in advance.

@@XLRSAv Do US airlines allow cockpit visits on the ground or are they not allowed, but not prohibited?

@@davidbian2466 If you ask, cockpit visits are usually allowed.

That plan to keep her until roughly 2030 where the 76s and oldest 777s are nearing 40 years. They also want to wait for their A359s and 777Xs to be delivered.

I'd argue that flying safely and reliably even with older aircraft is as first world as it gets.

What a memory and thanks for sharing! Continental was a great airline.

@@XLRSAv After saying that I feel foolish telling you it was JFK - LAX. I had just disembarked my first contract on a cruise ship. (YYZ was another time, but a week after 9/11 and it was a United 777 too)

@@Logan_Woods-zd2zi No worries!!

I’ve flown the 777-300ER once before and loved it! Hope to fly one again!

I watched the newest SpiderMan movie and filmed during slower parts of the film.

I see on your IFE TV or your laptop?

Wish i got a better shot of her in the Breast Cancer Awareness Livery!

What a memory! Wish i could’ve seen her back then all shiny and new!

@@XLRSAv I did take a lot of pictures, but then there was a fire…..😂

Some military jets have even longer life cycles like the c-135 series. Those fuselages are built different.

They both have similar numbers of passengers but MCO handles slightly more than MIA