Boeing 777-300ER | 2005

Airline - Moscavia
Aircraft - Boeing 777-300ER | EI-QFL
Delivered to Moscavia, 2005
Livery - Standard 1994
Country - Russia

In 2005, Moscavia received its first 777-300ER directly from Boeing. Two more would join the fleet that year, with a further five in 2006, for a total of eight 777-300ER in the fleet. This was the first aircraft type the airline bought new directly from the manufacturer, and as such its arrival was greatly publicized and celebrated. Like Moscavia's 747-400s, the new 777s were equipped with First, Business, and Economy Class, and naturally the interiors had been custom-fitted for the airline. As can be seen on the seatmap below, there were ten reverse-herringbone First Class seats, which converted into fully flat beds on demand. The First Class cabin was especially spacious and comfortable because of the removal of all overhead bins - personal belongings were instead stored in small compartments built into the seat shell, while larger items were placed into big closets located between First and Business. Business Class itself contained fifty electronically-operated angle-flat seats. Overall, the new 777s' premium products were of equal or better quality than the First and Business Class on the airline's ex-SOPAS and ex-Aérocontinentale 747s, which had been received in 2003 and 2005 respectively (see previous post). The 777s were, however, less premium-dense - with 384 seats in Economy, the total capacity was 444, only 13% of which was premium. Due to this, the 777s found themselves being deployed on routes with less premium demand than the 747s, which didn't stop them being appreciated by passengers, especially in Economy - this was due to the newly-delivered 777-300ERs being fitted with in-seat AVOD entertainment screens in all classes. This was an advantage over the 747s - the five ex-SOPAS ones had older less usable AVOD in-flight entertainment, while the seven taken over from Aérocontinentale used overhead screens in all classes except First.