Great Choice: Japan To Adopt Boeing 777s As Government Aircraft

Above, the Korean Air Boeing 777 that I flew to Japan on. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Japanese government is about to make a decision. They are to decide to adopt the Boeing 777-300ER as their new government planes.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan is likely to adopt the Boeing 777-300ER as its new government aircraft to be used for overseas trips by the prime minister and imperial family members, government sources said Wednesday. 

The government plans to make a final decision by the end of August about the new government planes to be put into service from fiscal 2019, the sources said. 

Europe's Airbus S.A.S. has withdrawn from the bidding, according to the sources.

The new planes will replace the more "gas-guzzling" Boeing 747s currently in use. Those planes entered service in 1993. The Boeing 777s are more fuel-efficient.

The choice of the Boeing 777-300ER is an excellent one if, as expected, they are chosed as the new government aircraft. I have flown aboard the Boeing 777 (with Korean Air) and it is a very comfortable plane. Inside, it looks as big as the Boeing 747. The thing about the 777 that sticks out in my memory was the "basement" below the passenger deck.

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