Southwest Airlines
- The Boeing 737 is the best selling jetliner of all time.
- Through February 2018, Boeing has taken 14,545 orders for the plane.
- Since its debut in 1967, the 737 has become a mainstay for airlines around the world in a multitude of roles ranging from short-haul flights to work as a freighter.
The Boeing 737 is ubiquitous. If you've taken a commercial flight in the last 50 years, there's good chance it was on a Boeing 737.
That's because Boeing has sold a whole lot of them. Since 1965, the American aviation giant has sold a whopping 14,545 737s. Just this week, Boeing delivered the 10,000th 737, a new MAX 8 model, to Southwest Airlines. To put that into perspective, Boeing's second best selling plane, the wide-body 777, has received a little less than 2,000 orders. However, it should be noted that the long-haul 777 costs several times more than the 737 and is used in different segments of the airline market.
Over the years, the Boeing 737 has proven itself to be a faithful workhorse for airlines around the world. Its versatility is nothing short of astounding. What debuted in 1967 as a 50-seat regional jet has now spawned 200-plus-seat variants capable of trans-Atlantic travel.
With the introduction of the MAX, Boeing's long-serving 737 is set to fly on well past its 70th birthday.
Here's a closer look at the incredible history of the Boeing 737:
In 1964, Boeing began design work on a 50-60 seat, narrow-body airliner designed for trips between 50 and 1,000 miles in length. It would also be roughly half the size Boeing's smallest jet at the time, the 727.Reuters/Mike SegarSource: New York Times.
At the time, Boeing was best known for it larger jets like the 707 and...US Air Force/ Ken LaRock
... The eight-engine B-52 bomber.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
As a result, the plane that launched in January 1967 became known as the Baby Boeing. The original 737 is what we would today call a regional jet.Boeing
To save time, Boeing allowed the 737 to share the same upper half of the fuselage as the larger 707 and 727. As a result, the cabin of the Baby Boeing is the same width as the company's larger jets. This means six-abreast seating.Boeing
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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