If you believe in lucky sevens, you’ll be happy to fly aboard the Boeing 777 delivered to Air France on April 10. Tail number F-GZND (remember that, superstitious readers) is the 777th 777 turned out by Boeing. The new 777-300ER also is the first painted in a new Air France livery.
Air France operates one of the largest fleets of 777s in the world and was the launch customer for both the 777-300ER and the 777 Freighter, according to a Boeing news release. The relationship between Air France and Boeing goes back to the early days of the airline, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, Boeing said, although that includes Air France’s early DC-3s, which were built by Douglas decades before that company was absorbed into Boeing.
Three generations of actual Boeing airplanes have carried three Air France liveries, however. The first was at the arrival of the jet age and the airline’s Boeing 707s. The second opened up long-haul international travel with Boeing 747s and, now, the unveiling of the 777th Boeing 777.