Hi, dear passengers and avgeeks!
This FR covers a 5th-freedom Ethiopian flight within EU (from Copenhagen Kastrup to Vienna) on a rare and vanishing type - B777-200LR - taken 2 years ago in June 2024. ET is well-known for the vast number of 1-stop flights, with most of them being 5th-freedom ones. 1-stop flights helps ET to cover more market with the existing fleet, to balance the departure banks in ADD and to better handle curfews in some destinations. In summer 2024 ET used to serve it 5th-freedom ET724/725 ADD-VIE-CPH-VIE-ADD flights with B77Ls quite frequently, and the date of my flight was just the 3rd one when B77Ls were assigned to ET724/725 in 2024. For the contrast, in 2025 B77Ls were serving ET714/715 ADD-ARN-OSL-ARN-ADD flights, whereas ET724/725 saw them just 3 times. In 2026 ET is going to serve ET724/725 flights with B77Ls 4 times: 8 August, 15 August, 22 August and 29 August, but this is not certain and may change.
About Ethiopian Airlines
ET is by far the largest and the most successfull airline in Africa. ET's hub - ADD - is the 3rd busiest airport of Africa behind CAI and JNB (well behind, because CAI and JNB are served by a large number of international carriers, and ADD is ET-dominated).
ET has very prominent (compared to the other airlines in Africa) passenger fleet, consisting of:
B77W: 4 2013-2015-built frames in C28_Y365 layout with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business and 3-3-3 Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 1 2020-built frame (not taken up by China Southern) in C28_W28_Y305 layout with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business, 2-4-2 Collins Icon fixed-shell recliners in premium economy and 3-3-3 Collins Pinnacle seats in economy.
B77L: 4 2010-2011-built frames in C28_Y287 layout with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business and 3-3-3 Weber 5751 seats in economy.
A35K: 4 2024-2025-built frames in C46_Y349 layout with 1-2-1 Safran Optima seats (a hybrid of staggered and herringbone layout) in business and Safran Z300 seats in economy (ET seems to be the last operator of Z300 seats).
A359: 14 2016-2019-built frames in C30_Y318 layout with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond seats (with symmetrical center blocks) in business and Collins Pinnacle seats in econonmy, plus 6 2020-2023-built frames in C30_Y318 layout with 1-2-1 Safran Optima seats (a hybrid of staggered and herringbone layout) in business and Safran Z300 seats in economy, plus 2 2024-2025-built frames (not taken up by Sichuan Airlines) in C30_Y307 layout with 1-2-1 Collins Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats in business and uncomfortable Recaro CL3710 seats in economy.
B789: 4 2017-2018-built RR-powered frames in C30_Y285 layout with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond seats in business and Collins Pinnacle seats in economy, plus 6 2019-2023-built GE-powered frames in C30_Y285 with 1-2-1 Collins Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats in business and Collins Pinnacle seats in economy.
B788: 10 2012-2014-built GE-powered frames in C24_Y246 layout with 2-2-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business and Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 1 2013-built GE-powered frame (from Hainan Airlines) in C36_Y177 layout with Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business and Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 3 2015-built GE-powered frames in C24_Y246 layout with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond seats in business and Safran Z300 seats in economy, plus 6 2016-2017-built RR-powered frames in C24_Y246 layout with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond seats in business and Safran Z300 seats in economy.
B7M8: 21 2018-2026-built frames in C16_Y144 layout with Collins MiQ recliners in business and Collins Pinnacle seats in economy, plus 2 2022-built frames (not taken by Ural Airlines due to the sanctions) in C8_Y177 layout, also with Collins MiQ recliners in business and Collins Pinnacle seats in economy.
B738: 8 2011-2015-built frames in C16_Y138 layout with B/E Aerospace Millennium recliners in business and Weber C100 seats in economy.
B737: 2 2004-2005-built frames in C16_Y102 layout with Weber 7070 recliners in business.
One can notice that, except of the 2 latest A359s, ET has very comfortable economy seat models throughout its widebody fleet, and, moreover, all ET's B777s have very spacious 3-3-3 layout in economy. ET definitely deserves a lot of respect for maintaining the superior comfort of its economy cabins.
Copenhagen Kastrup International Airport (CPH)
CPH, located just outside Copenhagen city and south-east from city centre, is the largest airport in Northern Europe, and consists of 3 runways (04L/22R, 04R/22L and 12/30) and 2 terminals (T2 and T3). CPH is very well connected with the city - by subway line and by suburban trains.
I arrived to CPH on subway. Kobenhavns Lufthavn station had a beautiful globe on the platform.
The passage from the subway station to T3, heading straight to the departures level.
Ticketing machines for the various modes of transport (train, subway, bus), connecting airport with the city. Here one can also buy daily tickets for various zones - from within the city to almost all the country.
A sculpture on the departures level of T3.
Check-in hall of T3, where SK, SQ and CA counters are located. All the other airlines, serving CPH, have check-in counters in the older T2, adjacent to T3.
SK servise deck.
A view of T3's facade.
A passage between T3 and T2, where some check-in desks are located.
T2's check-in hall.
View of the playground and a bit of T3 from T2's security. The security was packed, which seems to be a norm for CPH in the evening; thankfully, I had enough time.
Duty-free after security.
The airside area of CPH, consisting of 6 piers (intra-Schengen A and B, international C, international / intra-Schengen D and E, F for LCCs) is vast, and its distanced are comparable with the ones in IST.
As I've already seen most areas of the airside a year before, I headed directly to the immigration of C pier. As the ET flights are ADD-bound, they must depart from international gates, thus passengers, flying between CPH and VIE, must pass immigration twice - on departure and on arrival - and their documents must comply the conditions of multiple entries to Schengen area. ET warns about this fact on its website.
From here one can connect to the international gates of D, E and F piers.
The most part of C pier (gates C27-35) is dated with low ceilings.
A 7/11 vending machine. 7/11 conbini are one of symbols of East- and South-East Asian countries, but 7/11 also has significant footprint in North America (Mexico, US, Canada) and Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway).
The newer part of C pier (gates C36-39) was opened in 2015 and looks much nicer.
An EK A380 LEGO-model in gates C37-39 area. Though, EK serves CPH with B77Ws.
Planespotting In CPH
SK CR9 (EI-FPT) in the old livery near D1-4 pier.
SK A20N (EI-SIU) in the new livery, U2 A319 (G-EZGI) and FR B738, 2 SK Connect AT76s and 2 cargo planes in the distance: DHL B752F and FX AT76F.
DH4 (9H-LWA) of Luxwing - a small regional Malta-based airline, operating 3 DH4s, 1 E145 and 1 Saab 340. Behind this DH4 is the tail of a private Cessna 560XL Citation XLS (OO-VMF).
SK CR9 (EI-GEC), which was all-white back then, but since was repainted into the new livery.
One more SK CR9 (EI-FPW) in the old livery near the far end of B-pier.
SK E195 (SE-RSL) in the new livery.
A20N (OY-RCL) of Faroe-based Atlantic Airways (RC) - a small carrier, operating just 2 A20Ns and 2 A320s. On the backdrop is a private B737BBJ and the beautiful Skandinavian sky.
CA A359 near the newer part of C-pier. These A359s features superior premium cabins (business and premium economy) compared to the rest of CA widebody fleet, but inferior economy - due to uncomfortable Recaro CL3710 seats.
SK A20N (SE-ROR) in the old livery. On the backdrop is one of ATC towers.
One more SK A20N in the new livery near B-pier.
Norwegian Air Sweden B7M8 (SE-RTA) with Charles Lindberg portrait on the tail near D1-4 gates.
Finally, my B77L appears, being towed from a remote stand (where it has spent most of the day after the morning arrival from VIE). One can also see a tail of a Braathens A319 (TF used to operated 2 A319, but phased them out in 2025). I refer to the Appendix 1 in the end of this FR, which demonstrates, how rare have become B77Ls nowadays, operated by just 7 carriers.
It seems like ET colors pair well with DHL colors.
The Aircraft
My flight from Copenhagen to Vienna was operated by 2011-built B77L (ET-ANP). In March 2026 it was phased out from passenger service and sent for freighter conversion (then it will supposedly join ET Cargo fleet, which currently has 12 factory-built B77Fs). ET's youngest B77L - 2013-built ET-AQL shared the same fate a month earlier. Thus, as of mid-2026, ET B77L fleet is down to just 4 frames: 2010-built ET-ANN and -ANO and 2011-built ET-ANQ and -ANR, but all of them have cabins, identical to the ones ET-ANP had. Moreover, ET's 4 older B77Ws (ET-APX, -APY, -ASK and -ASL) also have cabins, identical to the ones of B77Ls (with the exception that the economy in B77W is noticeably larger). Thus, this FR remains valid.
Whereas most B77Ls have GE90-110B engines with 110 lbs thrust rating, ET's ones have GE90-115B engines with maximum thrust rating 115 lbs, equal to the one of B77W's GE90s. Taking into account the high elevation of ADD (2334 MASL), this extra thrust is useful. As an example, what a beast of aircraft is B77L even in the challenging conditions of ADD: when ET used to serve its ADD-GRU-EZE flights with B77Ls, the transatlantic leg was flown nonstop. Now, with these flights being served by A359s, a refueling stop on a low elevation enroute (currently in NSI) is needed, noticeably increasing the flight time, and some passengers, unaware of this refueling stop, even lose their connections in GRU! The longest ET flight, currently served by B77Ls, is ET616/617 ADD-CAN-ADD with flight times under 10 hours in both directions.
B77L's MLG with 6-wheeled bogeys, purposed to handle the whopping almost 350-tonne MTOW.
The nosegear.
Boarding
The flight was boarding from C33 gate.
The 2L door of B77L.
The Business Class Cabin
The business class cabin is located entirely between 1L/R and 2L/R door and consists of 28 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lie (converting into a bed of 170 degree angle) seats in 2-3-2 layout (rows 1-4). The huge advantage of these seats is ample and unrestricted footspace. The disadvantages are lack of privacy and lack of direct aisle access for window and middle seats. But if you have a duo or triple seatblock at your disposal, these seats really shine. This seat model was very popular in the first half of 2010s. For example, most of TK's 2010-2014-built B77Ws and A333s have these seats, as well as most of CA and CZ A333s and so on. In ET fleet 4 older (2013-2015-built) B77Ws and 11 2011-2014-built B788s have these seats. From mid-2010s the updated version of this model - Safran Aura Enhanced, featuring some minor improvements, like a small privacy screen, was produced.
One can notice that row 4 is missing one window and is quite badly aligned with the closest window, so it's better to avoid this row.
The Economy Class
The economy class consists of 287 Weber 5751 seats in spacious 3-3-3 layout, distributed between 2 cabins: the front larger one, located between 2L/R and 3L/R doors (rows 21-39) and the smaller rear one, located between 3L/R and 4L/R doors (rows 46-59). I refer to the Appendix 2 in the end of this FR, which has a comprehensive list of all the operators of 3-3-3 B777s (their number is not insignificant even in 2026!).
A couple of views of the front larger economy cabin.
Detailed views of the rear smaller economy cabin. The 2 rearmost rows - 58 and 59 - have duo lateral seat blocks (aligned to the windows) due to the fuselage tapering (photo 3). Needless to say that the crew were not the friendliest ones, and one of them started to tell me that taking photos onboard is not allowed, but I told her that it's a very rare aircraft and then she had no objections.
The Economy Seat: Weber 5751
My seat was 55L in the rear economy cabin, right where fuselage tapering begins, which results in some angle between lateral seatblocks of rows 54 and 55, giving some extra legroom for 55A/L seats, which is very nice (and at the same time taking out some legroom from 55C/J seats). The seat model is Weber 5751 - arguably the best economy seats for the flights of any lenght, including ultra-long-hauls. Sadly, this seat model is long out of production. The seatwidth is 18.1", which is common for Weber seats that can be used both in 3-3-3 B777 and in A330/A340. Though, with this seatwidth B777 has much wider aisles than A330. With narrower aisles B777 in 3-3-3 layout can have up to 18.5" seatwidth with full-sized armrests (the case of JL B77Ws and TK's 2010-2014-built B77Ws), which is almost on par with A380.
The seat has adjustable headrest, fabric upholstery, Thales IFE with armrest-mounted remote control (not the best solution ergonomically), USB port, coat hanger, single-piece tray table with cup holder and soft seatpocket. The row pitch is good (even withouth the aforementioned "bonus" for 55A/L seats). Waiting on the seat were pillow and blanket, plus earphones in the pocket. Honestly speaking, the economy cabin was feeling a bit "tired", but this can easily be forgiven taking into account the spaciousness and comfort of the cabin. Given that 2 ET B77Ls (including this one) has already left passenger service for freighter conversion, it seems, like the remaining 4 will share the same fate in the foreseeble future, thus ET has no motivation to invest into refurbishment of their cabins. Probably, ET's 4 older B77Ws (having similar cabins) will see some refreshment of their cabins, as they'll definitely stay in the fleet for longer.
The overhead panel is standard without airvents.
The seatpocket content: safety card, inflight magazine, duty-free magazine and waste bag.
Some content of the inflight magazine: the fleet page (promoting then-yet-to-be-delivered A35Ks), the ET network map, news about the start of the new Addis-Ababa airport project (the new airport will be located further from the city than ADD, but at lower elevation, which will boost ET performance - in particular, it will help ADD-GRU flights to be operated nonstop by A359s) and pages about yoga in Chicago.
The main menu of IFE and some examples of the content: audio, Ethiopian music, games, flight map modes, info about ET, and remote control instruction (as the IFE screen has degraded over time, the remote turned to be useful, even though its location is questionnable).
The Flight
The last LD3 containers are being loaded into the cargo hold…
… and we're ready for departure.
The safety video on Amharic (one of the main languages of Ethiopia) and English is played (one can notice the inconsistency of the video, showing B789 interiors and A359 exteriors instead of B77L's ones)…
… and pushback begins. Let's continue planespotting. B7M8 (LN-FGJ) of Norwegian Air Shuttle with Knud Rasmussen portrait on the tail near D1-4 pier.
2000-built BA A319 (G-EUPO) near C-pier.
2005-built JU A319 (YU-APC), arriving to C-pier.
Starting our taxi. A view of the newer part of C-pier (gates C36-39). One can notice that the windows were shabby due to the aircraft's age. Probably, the windows of all the remaining ET B77Ls are in the similar inferior state.
PC A20N and AI B788 near C-pier. On the backdrop is the new extension of CPH's airside under construction.
SK CR9, E195 and A20N near B-pier.
BT A223 (YL-ABP).
LX A223 and LO E190.
OS A320 and LH A320SL.
EW A320, Norwegian (D8 or DY) B738 and IB Express A320.
Cabin lighting is turned on in "departure" mode.
Takeoff from 04L/22R. B77L with a relatively light load thunders into the skies like a rocket.
A view of Køge Bugt with some reflections of the evening sun.
Beautiful clouds over the Baltic sea.
Views of the Baltic Sea near Northern Germany.
An inflight view of the rear economy cabin.
The rear lavatories are spacious, being the thing A350s and B787s sadly don't have.
ET provides some snack and drink service on this leg: in 2024 it was a cupcake; for the drinking I chose orange juice and cola (wines were also available). In 2025 the service on this leg was improved to a sandwich. Anyway, its so much better than the non-existent service of EU legacy carriers (except only AF/KL) on similar flights.
Some beautiful clouds somewhere over Germany.
As we were getting closer to Austria, some convective activity started to appear in sight…
… and then we passed an impressive cluster of large cauliflowers with stunning evening lighting. An unforgettable moment of the flight.
The sun is getting closer to the horizon…
… while we're getting closer to Vienna and starting our descent.
Finally, the daylight of this long June day is coming to an end.
Badeteich Hirschstetten in Donaustadt.
The sunset and a bit of Danube.
Cabin lighting is turned to the "landing" mode.
Crossing Danube.
Landing on 16/24 runway with the VIE's signature ATC tower in sight.
Views of a large decaying cauliflower in the last rays of the sunset as we're taxiing to the terminal.
OS A320 (OE-LBQ) in the dusk.
Arriving to F/G pier of T3 and passing EK B77W (A6-EQI), which was reconfigured into 4-class F6_C38_W24_Y256 layout later in 2024.
The Economy Cabin After The Flight
My seat 55L after the flight. A relatively small percent of passengers, including me, disembarked in VIE, the others stay onboard to continue to ADD.
A couple of views of the bulkhead row (21) of the front large economy cabin.
An impressive view of the mighty GE90-115B engine from row 21. On the adjacent gate is OS E195 (OE-LWD). Soon all OS' E195s will be transferred to Air Dolomiti. And now it's time to say goodbye to the mighty B77L with very comfortable cabin. It was short, but memorable flight!
Vienna Schwechat International Airport, Terminal 3
The transfer zone of T3 with the exit to immigration (downstairs).
Luggage claim hall with a promotion of Leopold Museum and of the Opera.
Information about arrivals before the exit to the landside.
The landside of T3 and the exit to the railway station. One should use the "simple" OBB suburban trains to reach the city center on a budget, as the CAT express is expensive.
Thank you for your attention and see you in the next FRs!
Appendix 1: World's Remaining B777-200LR Passenger Operators
As of mid-2026, there are just 31 B77Ls, operated by just 7 carriers, are left in the world in scheduled passenger service. Below is their list with the layouts and seat models of their B77Ls.
1) Air Canada: 6 2007-2008-built frames in 3-class C40_W24_Y236 layout, featuring Collins Super Diamond lie-flats (1-2-1) in business, Recaro PL3510 recliners (2-4-2) in premium economy and Collins Pinnacle seats (3-4-3) in economy.
2) Emirates: 10 2007-2009-built frames in 3-class C38_W24_Y214 layout, featuring Collins lie-flat (2-2-2) in business, Recaro PL3530 recliners (2-4-2) in premium economy and Safran Z300 seats (3-4-3) in economy.
3) Ethiopian Airlines: 4 2010-2011-built frames in 2-class C28_Y287 layout, featuring Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies (2-3-2) in business and Weber 5751 seats (3-3-3) in economy.
4) Iraqi Airways: 1 2012-built frame in 2-class C14_Y350 layout supposedly with 2-3-2 business and 3-3-3 economy (seat models are unknown).
5) Pakistan International Airlines: 2 2005-built frames (B77L prototype and demonstrator) in 2-class layout C35_Y275, featuring old-school cradle-type angle-lie seats (2-3-2) in business and Recaro 3410 seats (3-3-3) in economy. These world's oldest B77Ls have the oldest interiors among all the operators.
6) Qatar Airways: 6 2009-2011-built frames, 5 in 2-class C42_Y230 layout, featuring QSuites (based on 1-2-1 Collins Aerospace seats) in business and uncomfortable Recaro CL3710 seats (3-4-3) in economy. One frame has the older 2-class C42_Y234 layout, featuring B/E Aerospace Minipod lie-flats (2-2-2) in business and uncomfortable Recaro CL3710 seats (3-4-3) economy; this frame will probably be reconfigured or converted to freighter.
7) Turkmenistan Airlines: 2 2014-built frames (the last passenger B77Ls built) in 2-class C28_Y263 layout, featuring Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies (2-3-2) in business (which is identical to the business of ET B77Ls) and Weber 5751 seats (3-3-3) in economy (which is identical to the economy of KE's 2009-2013-built B77Ws).
As one can see:
A) PK has the oldest B77Ls and T5 - the youngest ones;
B) EK has the largest B77L fleet with just 10 frames;
C) T5, ET, IA and PK has the most spacious economy (with T5 and ET having the most comfortable seat models);
D) QR has by far the best business class and by far the worst economy in B77Ls.
Appendix 2: A Comprehensive List Of The World's Remaining 3-3-3 (And 2-4-3) B777 Operators
As of mid-2026, there are 24 airlines, operating roughly 266 B777s with the spacious 3-3-3 economy layout on scheduled flights. Below is the comprehensive list of these carriers with the data on the layouts and seat models of their B777s.
1) Air China: 20 (out of 28) 2012-2014-built B77Ws in 3-class F8_C42_Y261 layout (with Zodiac Aerospace Venus suites in first and 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats (of early production years) in economy.
2) Air India: 13 (out of 19) B77Ws in 3-class F4_C35_Y208 layout, with 12 2007-2010-built frames (with Aviointeriors Venus "suites" in first class, 2-3-2 Aviointeriors Perseus angle-lies in business), featuring Aviointeriors Centaurus seats in economy, plus 1 2018-built frame (with 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business), featuring Safran Z300 seats in economy. These frames will be refurbished and reconfigured into 3-4-3 layout in economy during the airline's turnaround process.
3) Air Peace: 1 2005-built RR-powered B773 in 2-class C50_Y269 layout, probably featuring old-school seats in economy, installed by SQ (the former operator).
4) Asiana: 8 PW-powered B77Es, with 2 2002-2004-built frames in 2-class C22_Y278 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy, and 6 2007-2013-built frames (including the last-built 1st-gen B777) in 2-class C24_Y278 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy. These frames will be gradually phased out during the OZ-KE integration process.
5) Biman Bangladesh: 4 2011-2014-built B77Ws in 2-class C35_Y381 layout (with 2-3-2 Stelia Evolys angle-lies in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy.
6) China Southern: 15 2014-2019-built B77Ws, with 13 frames in 3-class C28_W28_Y305 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business and 2-4-2 Collins Icon fixed-shell recliners in premium economy) and 2 frames supposedly in 4-class F4_C20_W28_Y305 layout (with the same business and premium economy seats), with all of them featuring Collins Pinnacle seats in economy.
7) Egyptair: 5 2010-2011-built B77Ws in 2-class C49_Y297 layout (with 2-3-2 B/E Aerospace Minipod angle-lies in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy. These frames will be phased out and replaced by A359s.
8) Ethiopian Airlines: 4 2013-2015-built B77Ws in 2-class C28_Y365 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 1 2020-built B77W (not taken up by China Southern) in 3-class C28_W28_Y305 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business and 2-4-2 Collins Icon fixed-shell recliners in premium economy), featuring Collins Pinnacle seats in economy, plus 4 2010-2011-built B77Ls in 2-class C28_Y287 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy.
9) EVA Air: 23 (out of 32) B77Ws with 12 2006-2010-built frames in 3-class C38_W64_Y221 layout plus 11 2014-2016-built frames in 3-class C39_W56_Y238 layout (with the same seats in business and premium economy). All these B77Ws have 1-2-1 Zodiac Cirrus lie-flats in business, Zodiac 5810 recliners in premium economy and Collins Pinnacle seats in economy. These B77Ws will be replaced by A35Ks.
10) Garuda Indonesia: 6 2013-2016-built B77Ws in 2-class C26_Y367 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats (early production years; similar to the ones in CA 3-class B77Ws) in economy.
11) Japan Airlines: 8 2006-2009-built B77Ws in 4-class F8_C49_W40_Y147 layout (with 2-3-2 Collins Aerospace Apex suites with direct aisle access for every seat in business and 2-4-2 premium economy), featuring Zodiac/Safran Z300 seats in economy. JL's B77Ws are the most spacious ones (except the business cabin) in the world but, sadly, they are being gradually replaced with 4-class A35Ks (having cutting-edge premium cabins but much inferior economy).
12) Kenya Airways: 1 2014-built B77W (returned from Turkish Airlines) in 2-class C28_Y372 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite almost-lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy.
13) Korean Air: 10 2009-2013-built B77Ws in 3-class F8_C56_Y227 layout (with Kosmo suites in first and 2-3-2 B/E Aerospace Minipod lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 14 2015-2019-built B77Ws in 3-class F8_C42_Y227 layout (with Kosmo 2.0 suites in first and 2-2-2 B/E Aerospace Apex suites with direct aisle access for every seat in business), featuring Safran Z300 seats in economy, plus 4 1998-2000-built PW-powered B773s in 2-class C41_Y297 layout (with 2-3-2 B/E Aerospace Minipod lie-flats), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy. The 4 old B773s will be replaced by 2-class B78Xs.
14) Kuwait Airways: 10 2016-2017-built B77Ws in 3.5-class F8_C36_Y+54_Y236 layout (with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond seats in business), featuring uncomfortable slimline Recaro CL3710 seats in economy.
15) Pakistan International Airlines: 1 (out of 2) 2006-built B77W in 2-class C35_Y358 layout, plus 2 2005-built B77Ls in 2-class C35_Y275 layout, plus 4 2004-2007-built B77Es in 2-class C35_Y294 layout. All PK B777s have 2-3-2 oldschool cradle-type angle-lies in business and Recaro 3410 seats in economy (the oldschool Recaro seats, produced in 2000s, were quite comfortable).
16) Philippine Airlines: 2 (out of 10) 2013-built B77Ws (leased from Garuda Indonesia) in 2-class C26_Y367 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats (early production years) in economy.
17) Qatar Airways: 3 (out of 57) 2009-2010-built B77Ws (former Virgin Australia frames) in 3-class C37_W24_Y278 layout (with 1-2-1 Collins Super Diamond lie-flats in business and 2-4-2 premium economy), featuring quite mediocre Recaro CL3620 seats in economy.
18) Rossiya Airlines: 2 1998-1999-built RR-powered B773s in 3-class F4_C14_Y355 layout (with Aviointeriors Venus "suites" in first class marketed as "business plus", 2-3-2 Aviointeriors Perseus angle-lies in business), featuring Aviointeriors Columbus seats in economy.
19) Saudia: 27 (out of 35) B77Ws with 8 2016-2017-built frames in 3-class F12_C36_Y242 layout (with Collins Oasis suites in first and 1-2-1 Collins Super Diamond lie-flats in business), plus 13 2014-2016-built frames in 2-class C30_Y351 layout (with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond lie-flats in business), plus 6 2013-built frames in 2-class C12_Y393 layout (with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond lie-flats in business). All these B77Ws feature Collins Pinnacle seats in economy.
20) Singapore Airlines: 22 2006-2015-built B77Ws in 4-class F4_C48_W28_Y184 layout (with 1-2-1 Jamco suites in business, 2-4-2 Safran Z535 recliners in premium economy), featuring Safran Z300 seats in economy. SQ B77Ws, along with JL ones, are the most spacious ones in the world (SQ B77Ws have superior business class, but less row pitch in Y compared to JL ones). The older frames (at least 14 2006-2009-built ones) are planned to be replaced by B779s.
21) TAAG: 2 2011-2014-built B77W in F12_C56_Y225 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business), featuring Recaro CL3510 seats in economy, plus 2 2016-built B77Ws in F8_C53_Y228 layout (with 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business), featuring Safran Z300 seats in economy.
22) Thai Airways: 3 2021-built B77Ws (the world's last 3-3-3 B777s, including HS-TTC - the B77W with the latest first flight date, though, not the last L/N) in 3-class F8_C40_Y255 (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Safran Z300 seats in economy, plus 14 2012-2015-built B77Ws in 2-class C42_Y306 layout (with 1-2-1 Stelia Solstys lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy, plus 2 2007-built RR-powered B77Es in 2-class C30_Y262 layout (with 2-2-2 angle-lie seats in business), featuring seemingly Weber (predecessors of 5751 model) seats in economy. These 2 old B77Es will soon be phased out.
23) Turkish Airlines: 31 (out of 33) B77Ws with 30 2010-2017-built frames in 2-class C49_Y300 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite lie-flats in business in 2010-2014-built frames except TC-JJL…JJP and 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business in 2015-2017-built frames plus - due to retrofit - TC-JJL…JJP), featuring Weber 5751 seats (2010-2014-built frames), Safran Z300 (2015-2016-built frames) and TSI Skysofa (the 2017-built frame) in economy, plus 1 2014-built B77W in 2-class C28_Y372 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy. The latter frame will be returned to Kenya Airways soon.
24) Turkmenistan Airlines: 2 2014-built B77Ls in 2-class C28_Y263 layout (with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite lie-flats in business), featuring Weber 5751 seats in economy.
And then separately go 2 carriers, operating 4 B777s with the almost-vanished asymmetric 2-4-3 layout:
25) All Nippon Airways: 3 (out of 13) 2015-built B77Ws in 4-class F8_C68_W24_Y112 layout (with 1-2-1 staggered Safran SkyLounge III seats in business and 2-4-2 premium economy), featuring Sicma Airgonomic FX fixed-shell seats in 2-4-3 layout. Sicma economy seats tend to be on the narrower side, thus the seatwidth of 17.3", listed by aerolopa, seems to be realistic (which means inefficiency of 2-4-3 layout with these seats, as a lot of lateral space is wasted in vain). Probably these 3 B77Ws will be reconfigured with cutting-edge premium cabins and 3-4-3 economy with Recaro slimline seats on par with the rest NH B77Ws.
26) Max Air: 1 2007-built PW-powered B77E, probably still retaining 3-class F14_C82_Y279 layout from JAL (the former operator), featuring 2-4-3 economy.
As one can see, among 24 members of the "3-3-3 B777 club":
A) All of them are based in Asia, Middle East or Africa. Most of them are small in terms of their B777 fleets size.
B) Only 10 carriers have more than 10 3-3-3 B777s in the fleet: Air China, Air India, China Southern, EVA Air, Korean Air, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines. All of them are big (in terms of overall fleet size) and prominent carriers, based in Asia and in Middle East, and their B777s are actually B77Ws (TG also still has 2 B77Es, but their retirement is imminent). Kuwait Airways has exactly 10 3-3-3 B77Ws, but KU is a rather small airline compared to these big carriers.
C) 9 carriers have plans or move towards leaving this club in the foreseeble future due to retirement of their B777s or reconfiguration to 3-4-3 economy: Air India (reconfiguration), Asiana (retirement), Egyptair (retirement), EVA Air (retirement), Japan Airlines (retirement), Qatar Airways (reconfiguration or retirement of former VA frames), Philippine Airlines (return of leased GA frames), Rossiya Airlines (foreseeble breakdown of the last active frames with impossibility to repair due to the sanctions), Thai Airways (reconfiguration).
D) Most of the members of this club have far from cutting-edge hard product in premium classes of their B777s. At the same time almost all of them - except Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways and TAAG (only older B77Ws) - have very comfortable economy seat models: Weber 5751 was the most popular choice for B777s, built in the first half of 2010s, and Safran Z300 - for the later-built ones; Collins Pinnacle were also quite popular for B777s, built in 2010s. This clearly shows that 3-3-3 B777s are the remnants of the already-gone era of 2010s (and to the lesser extent - of 2000s, as not that much 3-3-3 B777s, built in 2000s, are left), which was kind of golden age for economy passengers, because a non-insignificant number of airlines were choosing this spacious economy layout combined with excellent economy seat models (which are now mostly out of production). Nowadays most B777 airlines who show off their cutting-edge premium cabins, have very miserable economy in the back of their B777s - 3-4-3 usually with slimline Recaro seats.
