Thousands of Boeing (NYSE: BA) employees gathered at the company’s Renton, Wash. factory today to celebrate the 10,000th 737 to come off the production line. With this airplane, a 737 MAX 8 for Southwest Airlines, the 737 has broken the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most produced commercial jet aircraft model.
“This incredible milestone is a testament to the work we do every day to build the most reliable and efficient single-aisle airplane in the world,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Kevin McAllister. “It represents more than 50 years of success and achievement on the part of thousands of Boeing employees past and present, our supplier partners, and our airline customers around the globe who put their confidence in the 737.”
The 737 previously held this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title in 2006 for the 5,000th airplane to come out of the Renton factory, a mark that took almost four decades to reach. Due to growing market demand and higher production rates, the 737 program reached the 10,000th airplane milestone only 12 years later.
“The speed at which Boeing achieved this new milestone is very impressive,” said Michael Empric, official adjudicator for GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS. “We are excited to once again recognize the 737 and the important role it plays in commercial aviation.”
Boeing will increase 737 production from the current rate of 47 airplanes per month to 52 airplanes per month later this year. The 737 program has more than 4,600 airplanes still on order fueled by sales of the newest version of the 737, the 737 MAX.
737 Facts
- A 737 takes off or lands every 1.5 seconds
- On average, more than 2,800 737s are in the air at any given time
- More than 22 billion people have flown on a 737
- The 737 has flown more than 122 billion miles, the equivalent of 5 million times around Earth
