The Boeing 777, a wide-body twin-engine jetliner, first flew on June 12, 1994. It was the first commercial aircraft to be designed entirely on computers using CAD software, eliminating the need for physical mock-ups. This represented a massive shift in aircraft design and manufacturing, leading to a new era of efficiency and customization in aviation.

This milestone symbolized the increasing digitization and virtualization of the modern world, a theme that poets and writers of the 1990s often explored. The transition to a computer-designed aircraft prompted reflection on the nature of design and creation in the late 20th century. The Boeing 777 was frequently used as a symbol of modernity and the increasingly invisible role of technology.