Saul Loeb/AFP
- The Boeing 737 was first imagined in 1964, and made its maiden voyage in 1967.
- In the 55 years since, more than 10 variants of the 737 have flown, and it's become the best-selling commercial airplane of all-time.
- Following two fatal crashes of the latest model - the 737 Max, caused by a design flaw - we look back at the history of the venerable jetliner.
- As Boeing works to get the grounded 737 Max back in the air, here's a look at the last 55 years of the 737.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Boeing 737 has been in the news a lot lately, since two fatal crashes involving the latest model of the plane, the 737 Max.
But even though the Max has been grounded for six months, as Boeing works to fix a dangerous flaw in the troubled jet, the sky has continued to be crisscrossed by older models of the 737.
In fact, if you've taken a domestic commercial flight in the past 50 years - including the last six months - there's a very good chance you were on a 737 of some sort.
That's because Boeing has sold a ton of them. As of August 2019, the planemaker has taken orders for 15,155 of them since 1965, when the jetliner was first unveiled. It delivered the 10,000th of these in April 2018, a (currently-grounded) 737 Max 8 to Southwest Airlines.
Despite the missteps and tragic consequences surrounding the Max's initial design, the larger 737 family has proved itself as a faithful workhorse for airlines around the world, ranging from long-haul carriers like Delta that include the plane as a small part of its fleet, to low-cost airlines like Ryanair, which uses 737s for its entire fleet.
Although the 737 looks likely to fly on for years to come, well past its 70th birthday, Boeing will need to prove to its customers that it's fixed the flawed Max and that it's learned enough from the episode to prevent it from ever happening again. The rival Airbus A320 family is nipping at its heels, with 14,789 orders through August. With Boeing failing to sell a single Max for more than five months, as customers wait to see how the company fixes the plane, the need to restore consumer confidence is urgent.
Here's a closer look at the incredible 54-year history of the Boeing 737.
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