Pursuits
Boeing’s 737 Turns 8,000: The Best-Selling Plane Ever Isn’t Slowing
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Boeing’s 737 aircraft just marked an aviation first: The 8,000th model has rolled off the assembly line, a round-number milestone for the best-selling airplane of all time. Boeing will deliver the aircraft, a 737-900ER, on Wednesday to United Airlines, the buyer of the first 737 sold in the U.S.
For an idea of just how popular the 737 is among airlines—several have built their entire business models around that one airplane—consider that Boeing’s archrival, Airbus, finished its 8,000th overall plane in August. The 737 program started in 1967, seven years before Airbus delivered its first airplane.