Why the Boeing 737 is the Most Popular Aircraft?
Since the release of the Boeing 737 series back in 1967, the family of aircraft has remained the most popular and demanded series of all time, even to this day. Despite fierce competition and rising sales of the Airbus 320 family, Boeing still holds on to the title of most models produced and delivered for their orders, a title they most likely will continue hold for the foreseeable future. Even Boeing 737 parts remain in constant demand for outfitting the longstanding aircraft series. Back in 2013, Boeing stated that a 737 was taking off or landing every 2 seconds across the world, and currently the 737 model still makes up about 75% of Boeing’s production backlog. With so many different airliners and aircraft models competing for dominance in the Aviation Market, what is it about the Boeing 737 that keeps it so popular even to this day?
Since its release, the Boeing 737 has served as a narrow bodied aircraft that is best utilized for short to medium range flights. In recent years, narrow body aircraft have been increasing in popularity and demand, especially in such markets as the Asia Pacific. The 737-800 remains Boeing’s most popular 737 model, and this popularity is in part due to an increase in fuel efficiency and various internal upgrades over similar models, the fuel efficiency driving operating costs down as compared to similar models on the market. These low operating costs are also heavy drivers in a market that constantly demands lower costs and increased efficiency. The Boeing 737-800 itself does not dominate in a specific facet of aircraft design like some, rather it focuses on broadly excelling equally across many areas, making it a great compromise for different applications and configurations. With a long Fuselage and spacious cargo and cabin room, the Boeing 737-800 serves as a great passenger plane with single aisles just as much as it does a cargo plane with fitted containers.
When initially designing the various Boeing 737 parts, many changes were made to Standard Aircraft design to set it apart from competition. For one, the Boeing 737 was designed with twin engines that were mounted to the wings, rather than behind the aircraft like many similar models on the market at the time. Beyond improving the cabin quality for passengers, this change also made engine maintenance much easier, thus helping improve efficiency and performance. With the versatility and capabilities of the 737, it is little surprise that the aircraft proved to be extremely popular very quickly. Since its release in 1968, over 10,000 Boeing 737 have been successfully produced over the 50 years leading up to 2018. The leading competitor, the Airbus A320, had only produced around 8,000 units at that point in time.
Share
