Boeing 737
Boeing 737
Air Berlin Boeing 737-700 in a hybrid Boeing
and Air Berlin livery.
Role
Airliner
National
origin
United States
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
First flight
April 9, 1967
Introduction
February 10, 1968 with
Lufthansa
Status
Active
Primary users Southwest Airlines
Continental Airlines
Ryanair
Alaska Airlines
Produced
1968 – Present
Number built
6,000 as of April 2009[1]
Unit cost
737-100: US$32 million[2]
737 NG: US$50-85 million
(2008)[3][4]
Variants
Boeing T-43
Boeing 737 Classic
Boeing 737 Next Generation
The Boeing 737 is a short to medium range,
single aisle, narrow body jet airliner. Origin-
ally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-
engine airliner derived from Boeing’s 707
and 727, the 737 has nine variants with the
-600,
-700,
-800 and -900 currently
in
production.
First envisioned in 1964, the 737 first flew
in 1967,[1] and entered airline service in
February 1968.[1][5] The 737 is Boeing’s only
single-aisle, narrow-body airliner currently in
production, sometimes serving markets pre-
viously filled by 707, 727, 757, DC-9 and
MD-80/90 airliners.
The 737 has been continuously manufac-
tured by Boeing since 1967 with over 6,000
aircraft delivered and 2,000 orders yet to be
fulfilled as of March 2009.[6] The 737 series
is the most-ordered and most-produced jet
airliner in history as of April 2009.[1] There
are over 1,250 737s airborne at any given
time, with one departing or landing some-
where every five seconds on average.[7]
Development
Origins
Boeing had been studying short-haul jet air-
craft designs and wanted to produce another
aircraft to supplement the 727 on short and
thin routes.[8] Preliminary design work began
on 11 May 1964,[9] and Boeing’s intense mar-
ket research yielded plans for a 50 to 60 pas-
senger plane for routes 50 to 1,000 mi (80 to
1,609 km) long.[8][10] Lufthansa became the
launch customer on 19 February 1965,[11]
with an order for 21 aircraft, worth $67 mil-
lion[12] (1965, $190.28 million in 2008), after
the airline reportedly received assuranc