Boeing Delivers 8000th 737 To United

Boeing delivered the 8,000th 737 airliner to United Airlines, marking a major milestone in its 50 year old 737 program. The airplane, a...

Boeing delivered the 8,000th 737 airliner to United Airlines, marking a major milestone in its 50 year old 737 program. The airplane, a Next Generation(NG) 737-900ER (Extended Range), features a special logo.

The 737 series is the best-selling and the first commercial airplane in history to reach this delivery milestone.

The Boeing 737 program which began in 1964, still has a backlog for more than 3,700 airplanes, including 1,934 orders for the new re-engined and redesigned 737 MAX, which is scheduled to enter service in 2017.

United was the first airline to order and take delivery of the 737-200. Since 1965, United has taken delivery of more than 550 737s and operated nearly every model.

Produced by Boeing since 1996, the 737 NG is the third generation derivative of the 737, and its four variants can seat between 110 to 210 passengers.The first 737-100 flew in 1967 and entered airline service in February 1968 with Lufthansa.

However the rival Airbus A320 jet family, which debuted in 1988 reached 6,000 delivery milestone last month, showing a faster growth rate, with a backlog for more than 5000 jets.