History of Boeing 737 commercial passenger jet airline

History of Boeing 737 commercial passenger jet airline
The Boeing 737 series is the best selling jet airliner in history. It has been produced from 1968 until the present day. Over 6,300 have been delivered and there over 2,000 aircraft still on the Boeing order books. The main competition for the Boeing 737 series of jet airliners is the European Airbus A320 series of planes. It has survived because of constant upgrades through its life.

The original aircraft was called the Boeing 737-100 designed for the requirements of Lufthansa who wanted a 100 seat jetliner for short distance routes of under 1,000 miles. Only 30 Boeing 737-100 aircraft were ever produced. Lufthansa received their first aircraft on December 28, 1967.

United Airlines wanted a slightly larger aircraft and this design became the Boeing 737-200. The inaugural flight for United Airlines was on April 28, 1968 from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The last one came out of the factory doors August 1988. 1,114 Boeing 737-200 aircraft were ever produced. Total amount of Boeing 737-200C planes produced was 96 and 865 of the advanced version were sold.

Introduced in 1984 the American Boeing 737 classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737. They are short to medium range, single aisle, narrow body jet airliners. The Boeing 737-300 jet airliner was delivered to USAir on November 1984. This was the first of this series. It finished production in 1999 as it was replaced by the Boeing 737-700. Total amount of Boeing 737-300 planes produced was 1,113.

The Boeing 737-400 jet airliner design was launched in 1985 to fill the gap between the Boeing 737-300 and the Boeing 757-200. It was longer than the 737-300 and could carry up to 168 passengers. 486 Boeing 737-400 planes were made.

The Boeing 737-500 jet airliner series was a replacement for the 737-200. It gave a gave a 25% increase in fuel efficiency over the older 737-200 engines. It could cover longer routes and carry 132 passengers. It flew for the first time in mid 1990 with Southwest Airlines. They had placed an order for 20 737-500 planes. The 737-500 was replaced by the 737-600. Total amount of Boeing 737-500 planes produced was 389.

In 1991 because of competition from the European Airbus A320 Boeing started work on what it called the Next Generation 737 passenger and freight jetliners. The Boeing 737NG encompasses the 737-600, 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900. The 737 Next Generation wing was modified, increasing its area by 25% and span by 16 ft (4.9 m), which increased the total fuel capacity by 30% and each aircrafts range. New, quieter, more fuel-efficient engines were used

These aircraft photographs are great reference sources if your painting 1/72 scale, 1/48 scale or 1/24 scale plastic model airplane Airfix, Tamiya, zvezda, revel, Pavala aircraft kits or you’re into flying and painting radio RC controlled model planes. There are many aviation books published about Boeing 737

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