Sovereign Airways Boeing 777 Poster

Having been one of the design partners working with Boeing on the 777 program, it's only natural that Sovereign Airways was one of the first customers for the aircraft, ordering 20 777-200s in 1992. Having commonality in the fleet with the 747-400, Sovereign Airways 747 pilots could easily retrain to the 777, so pilots for the new aircraft were quickly available.

The first 777 arrived in London Gatwick in November 1995, with its inaugural flight to Hong Kong happening in December. The 777 helped to replace the 747 Classic fleet on routes to Asia, leaving the A330s to replace the L-1011s. The airline has operated the 777-200, -200ER, and -300ER. The airline was looking at the 777-9X since 2013 to replace the fleet of 747-400s to Asia and the Middle East, however, with the arrival of the 747-8I and A350-1000, that won't happen until at least the mid-2020s, when the 747-8s are retired.

The 777 fleet mainly serves flights to Asia, including Beijing, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Occasionally, they also serve routes to North America, filling in for the A350 and 747. The 777-300ER also serves the airlines only route to Oceania, with a twice-weekly service to Sydney via Singapore, in partnership with ARAIAT.

Shown above is G-JAMA, the first 777-200ER delivered to the airline in 1997, in the 1998-2013 livery (while this aircraft did wear the 1976-1998 livery, it was only for a year, so that might come later), as well as G-JIMC, one of the airline's first 777-300ERs, in the current livery. All SV 777s are named after Asian cities, as that is where they mainly fly. G-JAMA is named "Tokyo", while G-JIMC is named "Seoul".

Leave feedback! Any and all feedback helps (but preferably constructive).