Boeing 737
1967 twin-engine jet-powered airliner family
The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its factories in Washington state.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating but with two underwing Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines. Envisioned in 1964, the initial 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967 and entered service in February 1968 with Lufthansa.
The lengthened 737-200 entered service in April 1968, and evolved through four generations, offering several variants for 85 to 215 passengers.
The first generation 737-100/200 variants were powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines and offered seating for 85 to 130 passengers. Launched in 1980 and introduced in 1984, the second generation 737 Classic -300/400/500 variants were upgraded with more fuel-efficient CFM56-3 high-bypass turbofans and offered 110 to 168 seats. Introduced in 1997, the third generation 737 Next Generation (NG) -600/700/800/900 variants have updated CFM56-7 high-bypass turbofans, a larger wing and an upgraded glass cockpit, and seat 108 to 215 passengers. The fourth and latest generation, the 737 MAX -7/8/9/10 variants, powered by improved CFM LEAP-1B high-bypass turbofans and accommodating 138 to 204 people, entered service in 2017.
Boeing Business Jet versions have been produced since the 737NG, as well as military models.
As of August 2026, 17,509 Boeing 737s have been ordered and 12,696 delivered.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Boeing 737” as 1967 twin-engine jet-powered airliner family. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1967 twin-engine jet-powered airliner family. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6387. The Library of Congress control number is sh87006428. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1980.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Boeing 737” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.