The Boeing 777X is the latest generation of the venerable ‘Triple-Seven’ family, and it is expected to enter service in 2027. This means that Boeing is now at a transition point where it finishes fulfilling the remaining backlogs of the old variant and gears up to pump out the new generation. According to data from Boeing, it has just five orders remaining for the passenger Boeing 777-300ER. After that, production of the second-generation 300ER will cease.

However, these aircraft may never be delivered, and it’s possible that the final 777-300ER was delivered to Altavair LP in 2024. Boeing also has 41 unfulfilled orders for the Boeing 777F, so the previous generation 777 will continue to be produced alongside the current generation 777X for some time.

Boeing’s Phantom Final 777-300ER Order

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At the time of writing, Boeing has a total of 698 Boeing 777s on order. These include 46 previous-generation Boeing 777s and 652 current-generation 777Xs (including freighters). Of those 46 previous-generation 777s, 41 are freighters and five are passenger 777-300ERs slated for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). However, while Boeing lists five 777-300ERs as being on order by PIA, there are doubts as to whether the order will ever be fulfilled.

In 2012, ch-aviation reported that PIA had finalized an order for those five 777-300ERs and that it had secured operations for an additional five aircraft of the same type. Reporting at the time, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn noted that the deal was worth $1.5 billion, and it would grow the airline’s fleet to 14 Boeing 777s. 13 years later, they remain on the unfulfilled books.

The Boeing 777-300ER has been largely out of production for years. In 2015, Boeing delivered 76 examples, and that rose to 88 in 2016, before falling to 65 in 2017. It sharply fell to 32 in 2018 and fell further to 19 examples in 2019. Since then, Boeing has delivered them in single digits, if at all. Deliveries totaled four in 2020, seven in 2021, three in 2022, and zero in 2023. One was delivered in 2024. All that remains on Boeing’s order book are those five Pakistani airplanes.

Boeing’s Final 777-300ER Deliveries

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In 2024, Boeing reported delivering a single example of the Boeing 777-300ER. That aircraft was delivered to Altavair LP, an aviation leasing company. It is possible, or perhaps likely, that the PIA order for the five remaining 777-300ERs will eventually be written off. In January 2025, The Air Current seemed to come to this conclusion, suggesting that Boeing’s final 777-300ER was delivered in 2024.

Since 2020, the planemaker has delivered just 15 passenger 777-300ERs. Three were delivered to Aeroflot, three were delivered to the aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation, two to United Airlines, and two to KLM. The aircraft sent to Aeroflot were delivered in 2021, before Western sanctions were imposed on Russia. Over the same period, a total of 105 Boeing 777F freighters were delivered to various customers around the world. In 2024, Boeing delivered 13 777F cargo aircraft.

In the first quarter of 2025, it delivered another seven examples of the Triple Seven freighter, and the only passenger 777 Boeing delivered since 2023 was that one to Altavair LP. It would seem that, like the Boeing 767, the 777 is currently only being produced as a freighter aircraft, although the 767 is also produced as a military aircraft. If true, the gap in passenger 777 deliveries will mean that Boeing will deliver the 737, 767, 777, and 787 in 2025, but only the 737 and 787 will be delivered as passenger aircraft.

Pakistan International Airlines’ Boeing 777 Fleet

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PIA ordered four Boeing 777-300ERs and took delivery of the first in December 2006, with the final arriving in January 2007. It currently operates a fleet of four 777-300ERs. According to Planespotters.net, these jets are now 18.5 years old on average, and only one remains in active service. The aircraft registered as AP-BHW and AP-BID have been stored at Karachi International Airport since 2020 and 2021 respectively.

The third aircraft, registered AP-BHV, is currently undergoing maintenance, while the fourth aircraft, AP-BMS, is currently active. PIA purchased all three of the 777 models then on the market in 2002, and it also operates two 777-200LRs and six 777-200ERs. These aircraft are currently an average of 21.2 years old, and five of them are currently active, with three currently parked up. PIA is the flag carrier of Pakistan, and its primary hub is in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

The airline was founded in 1946 in Calcutta, then British India, as Orient Airways. It moved to the newly independent Pakistan in 1947, and, today, it is the largest airline in Pakistan. However, there have been concerns about its safety. In June 2020, PIA was banned from flying in European airspace after EASA decided it was unable to certify and oversee its operators and aircraft according to international standards. It was also banned by the UK and the US, although, in November 2024, EASA lifted the ban on PIA.

The Possible Final 777-300ER Delivery

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Altavair is one of the world’s major aircraft leasing companies and was first founded in 2003. Since then, it has completed over $13.5 billion in commercial aircraft lease transactions with 94 customers in 40 countries. This has involved over 300 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including direct orders from the manufacturers (like the 777-300ER) and dozens of freighter conversions.

The company is an aviation asset manager focusing on the acquisition of new and used commercial aircraft for leasing to domestic and international passenger airlines and cargo operators. It maintains offices in Seattle, Dublin, London, and Singapore. The firm sold 33 aircraft in 2024 and also extended the leases on 27 other aircraft.

However, as an aircraft lessor, Altavair is just a middleman and will not be the actual company to operate what may be the world’s final previous-generation Boeing 777-300ER passenger jet. So, who is the actual customer for this aircraft?

The Mysterious Final 777-300ER Passenger Customer

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It is unclear what the final customer of what could be the last 777-300ER produced will be, as there doesn’t seem to be any information about that aircraft on Altavair’s website. However, Ethiopian Airlines is one airline still acquiring 777-300ERs and 777Fs. In February 2025, Altavair reported on its contract to deliver an ex-China Southern Airlines Boeing 777-300ER to Ethiopian. That contract had been sealed in December 2024.

In this transition, Altavair acted as the arranger, structure, and servicer. Boeing built the aircraft, Ethiopian was the lessee, and a fourth company called Marathon was the capital provider. Ethiopian Airlines is the largest airline in Africa and offers a large number of flights connecting the continent. The airline is also noted for operating a large number of fifth-freedom flights. As such, those flying to different destinations within Africa will have a good chance of finding themselves on an Ethiopian flight.

Ethiopian operates one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the aviation industry and serves over 140 international destinations. The carrier currently has a fleet of 157 aircraft, including 26 of Airbus’ flagship Airbus A350s (22 A350-900s and four A350-1000s). It also possesses a fleet of 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, made up of the 787-8 and 787-9 variants. The airline operates a fleet of 23 Boeing 777 family aircraft, including five Boeing 777-300ERs.

Making Way For The Boeing 777X

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The industry is now preparing to receive the Boeing 777X, which comes in two passenger variants (the 777-8 and 777-9) and one freighter variant. A total of 652 firm orders have been placed. All of these orders are from international customers, with no orders from US-based airlines, as the aircraft is seen as too big for US airline models. Notably, Ethiopian Airlines has placed an order for eight examples of the larger 777-9 model, along with options for 12 more.

About two-thirds of the orders for the 777X are from three Middle Eastern operators, with Emirates ordering 270, Qatar Airways ordering 124, and Etihad ordering 10 of the new aircraft. According to Boeing, the 777X will be the world’s largest twin-engine jet offering 10% lower fuel use and 10% lower operating costs than the competition. The only non-Boeing aircraft that competes with the 777X is the Airbus A350 family.

The Boeing 777-8 has a typical two-class capacity of 395 passengers, while the stretched 777-9 has a two-class capacity of 426 passengers. The smaller 777-8 has the superior range, being able to fly 8,745 nautical miles, while the Boeing 777-9 gets 7,285 nautical miles from a full tank of gas.

Like the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and the Boeing MAX 10, the 777X’s introduction to replace the Boeing 777-300ER, now seemingly out of production, is subject to receiving its FAA type certificate. However, since the 737 MAX crashes and concerns about Boeing’s safety, the FAA has delayed issuing these type certificates for Boeing’s newest commercial aircraft.