Boeing 777-300

The Stretched 777 That Was Built to Replace the Early 747s

The Boeing 777-300 is a 20 percent stretch of the 777-200, built to carry as many people as an early Boeing 747 on two engines instead of four. Boeing launched it at the Paris Air Show on June 26, 1995.

It first flew on October 16, 1997, and entered service with launch customer Cathay Pacific on May 27, 1998. At 242 feet 4 inches (73.9 m) it was the longest airliner yet produced, 11 feet (3.4 m) longer than a 747-400.

The target was the 747-100 and 747-200. Boeing’s pitch was that the 777-300 would do the same job on a third less fuel and with 40 percent lower maintenance costs, because there were two engines to feed and maintain instead of four.

That pitch worked, but not at the scale Boeing wanted. Only 60 were built before the line closed, against more than 800 of the longer-ranged 777-300ER that followed it.

What Boeing Actually Changed From the 777-200

The stretch is 33 feet 2 inches (10.1 m) of extra fuselage, and it is not one plug. Boeing added 17 feet 5 inches (5.3 m) across ten frames ahead of the wing and 15 feet 9 inches (4.8 m) across nine frames behind it, so the aircraft grew on both sides of its balance point.

The overwing fuselage panel, section 44, was strengthened, with skin thickness going from the -200’s quarter inch (6.3 mm) to nearly half an inch (11.4 mm). A new pair of evacuation doors was added, giving the -300 five Type A exits per side.

Two additions exist purely because the aircraft is long. A tailskid protects the rear fuselage during rotation, and ground maneuvering cameras feed the flight deck so the crew can see where the main gear is tracking during a turn.

The wing did not change. The 777-300 keeps the 777-200’s span of 199 feet 11 inches (60.93 m) and its plain, unwinglet tips, which is the quickest way to tell one from a 777-300ER, whose longer 212 foot 7 inch (64.8 m) wing ends in raked tips.

Two Engine Options, Not Three

This is where most published 777-300 data goes wrong. Reference sites routinely list three engine choices for the variant, including the General Electric GE90-94B.

The type certificate says otherwise. EASA’s data sheet for the 777 lists exactly two powerplants approved on the -300: the Pratt & Whitney PW4090 and PW4098, and the Rolls-Royce Trent 892.

The GE90 was never certified on this variant. Boeing offered it and printed a General Electric column in its own airport planning document, but no customer ordered one and the approval was never completed.

The split among the 60 delivered aircraft was 18 with the PW4000 and 42 with the Trent 800. That makes the Rolls-Royce airplane the representative 777-300, which matters because its weights differ slightly from the Pratt & Whitney version.

There is a live consequence to the Pratt & Whitney option. EASA adopted two FAA airworthiness directives in 2022 that require powerplant design changes it has not validated, so a PW4000-powered 777-200 or 777-300 cannot be operated on an EU register.

Making Sense of the Numbers

The full specification table for the aircraft is on this page. A few of its figures need context, because they are the ones that get quoted against each other.

Range. The 6,005 nautical mile figure is Boeing’s own, measured with 368 passengers in three classes. That is a real long-haul number, but it is roughly 1,400 nautical miles short of the 777-300ER, and that gap is the entire commercial story of the variant.

Weight. Maximum takeoff weight is 660,000 pounds (299,500 kg), but Boeing built the -300 with four takeoff weight options starting at 580,000 pounds (263,080 kg). Maximum landing weight, zero fuel weight and payload are identical across all four, so a lighter-rated aircraft carries the same load, it just cannot carry the fuel to take it as far.

Speed. The panel stores knots, but the 777 is flown on Mach number in the cruise. Maximum operating speed is Mach 0.87 to 0.89, which is the 510 knot figure shown at 43,100 feet. SKYbrary gives a typical cruise of Mach 0.84 at 490 knots true airspeed.

Fuel. Boeing’s airport planning document gives the 777-300 a usable fuel capacity of 44,700 US gallons (169,200 L). The 45,220 gallon figure that circulates widely is the 777-200ER’s, not this aircraft’s.

Cabin, Seating and Cargo

The 777-300 cabin is 19 feet 3 inches (5.86 m) wide, the same cross section as every other 777. What the stretch bought was length, not width.

Boeing’s published layouts are 368 seats in three classes (30 first, 84 business, 254 economy) and 451 in two classes (40 first, 411 economy). The certified maximum for emergency evacuation is 550, which is the number the specification panel carries.

Economy is nine or ten abreast. At nine abreast a seat is 18.5 inches (47 cm) wide and at ten abreast it drops to 17 inches (43 cm), which is the single biggest variable in how a 777-300 flight actually feels.

Below the floor it carries up to 7,552 cubic feet (213.9 m3) in 24 forward and 20 aft LD3 containers plus 600 cubic feet of bulk hold. That is a third more than a 777-200 can take.

Who Bought It, and Who Still Flies It

Eight customers took all 60 aircraft. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines took 12 each, International Lease Finance Corporation 8, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines 7 each, Thai Airways 6, and BOC Aviation and Korean Air 4 each.

The last 777-300 was delivered in 2006, two years after 777-300ER deliveries had already begun. Production of the two overlapped, and the extended-range model simply took the orders.

As of November 30, 2025, 28 remained in commercial service with seven operators. Cathay Pacific flies 17 of them, with three each at All Nippon Airways and Korean Air, two at Rossiya, and one each at Southwind, Alexandria Airlines and Air Peace.

Those fleets are old. The surviving Cathay aircraft average 24.3 years, the Korean Air aircraft 26.5 years and the All Nippon Airways aircraft 27.6 years, so the type is in its final stretch of airline flying.

Why Only 60 Were Built

The 777-300 did the capacity job well and the range job adequately, and in the late 1990s that was the wrong way round. Airlines replacing 747-100s and -200s wanted the seats, but they wanted the range too.

Boeing had planned to deliver 170 of them by 2006 and to build 28 a year by 2002. It ended up delivering 60 in total, between 1998 and 2006.

The fix arrived in 2004. The 777-300ER added the GE90-115B, a longer wing with raked tips, more fuel and a 775,000 pound (351,534 kg) maximum takeoff weight, which pushed range to 7,370 nautical miles and turned the stretched 777 into a genuine ultra-long-haul aircraft.

That aircraft went on to take 838 orders. Its own successor, the 777-9, was still working toward certification as of mid-2026 after years of delay, with first deliveries now expected in 2027. The baseline -300 is the short chapter in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Boeing 777-300 a good plane?

Technically it is a capable aircraft, and airlines have kept it earning for more than 25 years on high-density routes. Its weakness was commercial rather than technical: 6,005 nautical miles of range was not enough to replace four-engine aircraft on the longest routes, which is why only 60 were built before the 777-300ER took over.

What is the seating configuration of the 777-300?

Boeing’s reference layouts are 368 seats in three classes and 451 in two classes, with a certified maximum of 550. Economy is nine or ten abreast in a 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 arrangement, and Boeing designed the 777 cabin for seven or eight abreast business class seating.

When did Boeing stop making the 777-300?

The last 777-300 was delivered in 2006. Deliveries of the replacement 777-300ER had already started in 2004, and by Boeing’s 2007 price list the baseline -300 was no longer offered.

What is the best seat on a Boeing 777-300?

Seat quality depends far more on the operator’s layout than on the variant, so check that airline’s current seat map. As a rule on a 777, a nine abreast economy cabin gives you 18.5 inches (47 cm) of seat width against 17 inches (43 cm) at ten abreast, and the bulkhead rows behind each of the five door pairs trade recline for legroom.

What is the difference between the 777-300 and the 777-300ER?

They are the same length but different aircraft. The -300ER has GE90-115B engines, a longer wing with raked tips, extra fuel, a 775,000 pound maximum takeoff weight and 7,370 nautical miles of range, against 660,000 pounds and 6,005 nautical miles for the -300.

If an airline lists a “777-300” today, check the seat map. With 838 -300ERs sold against 60 -300s, it is far more likely to be the ER.

How many Boeing 777-300s are still flying?

Twenty-eight were in commercial service as of November 30, 2025, spread across seven operators and led by Cathay Pacific with 17. That is out of 60 built, and the survivors average well over 20 years old.

What engines does the Boeing 777-300 use?

Two options are certified: the Pratt & Whitney PW4090 or PW4098, and the Rolls-Royce Trent 892. Of the 60 built, 42 have Trent 800 series engines and 18 have the PW4000. The General Electric GE90 was offered but never certified on this variant, despite appearing in many published specification tables.

How much did a Boeing 777-300 cost?

Boeing’s 2006 price list, the last to include the variant, ran from $210 million to $234 million depending on configuration and options. Airlines rarely pay list price, and no new example has been available since 2006, so every 777-300 changing hands today is a used aircraft.