Boeing workers at the company's Renton, Washington factory celebrated the 10,000th 737 built since 1967.
On Tuesday, a representative of the Guinness Book of World Records presented the official recognition certificate to Boeing and its workforce for making the 737 the most popular jet airliner in history. It was actually the 737s's second world record. It first won recognition as the most popular jetliner when the company hit 5,000 in 2006.
Now time for some fun facts: From the construction of the first jet in 1967, it took Boeing 39 years to build the first 5,000. It's taken just 12 years to build the second 5,000. For most of those first four decades, Boeing was building 727s, then 757s and 707s in the Renton factory along with the 737. The first several hundred 737s were actually built along Boeing Field.
Today, the Renton factory only builds the 737, and it's building them at the rate of 47 jets per month. Based on current plans, the number will rise to 52 later in 2018 and 57 in 2019. All the 737s' wings are built in Renton, but the fuselages are built in Wichita, Kansas. The plane has the highest level of U.S. content, including parts from hundreds of suppliers.
If orders were to stop cold today, there are more than 4,800 737s on the order books, what's called the backlog. Think about that. The math is pretty simple.
Clearly, most of the oldest 737s have retired, the ones with those cigar-shaped Pratt and Whitney engines. Still, the numbers attached to the current flying fleet of 737s are astounding.
Consider this: A 737 takes off or lands every 1.5 seconds. Boeing says more than 2,800 of the jets are in the air at any given time. The 737 has flown nearly 23 billion passengers.
Added up, the 737 fleet has flown an astounding 122 billion miles, says Boeing. Enough to fly around the globe five million times.
The 737 today is not your grandfather's 737. The newest model is called the MAX, which has bigger engines and is more fuel efficient with a greater range than the so-called NG (Next Generation) 737 it replaces. The NG, in turn, replaced the original "classics" with that funny looking engine set up.
Over five decades the avionics have gotten a lot better, the structure stronger, the passenger amenities nicer, the engines bigger and more fuel efficient, the range longer and the level of safety higher. Yet, the plane is still mostly aluminum in an aviation world that is increasingly turning to carbon fiber and resin materials, known as composites. Still, airlines keep buying them. The formula works.
Why are airlines demanding so many 737s along with the competing A320 from Airbus? Both planes are in the so-called single-aisle market, meaning one aisle up and down with seats to either side. While many do fly longer range flights, they are generally the workhorse jets flying between most cities around the world with higher frequencies. These connecting city pairs are typically closer together and don't warrant giant twin-aisle planes like Boeing 777s and 747s and Airbus 380s and 330s typically involved in long-distance overseas travel.
As the economy has grown globally, and business and leisure travel continues to climb, orders for the current 737 MAX are expected to keep coming.
