MIAMI — Boeing has delivered the 6000th Next-Generation 737 this week. The aircraft is a 737-800, delivered to Turkish Airlines.
The jetliner (TC-JVZ • MSN 60025 • LN 6000) was delivered from Boeing Field (BFI) via Toronto (YYZ) and Keflavik (KEF) to Istanbul-Ataturk (IST), arriving as flight number TK6830 on July 28th.
With deliveries starting in May 1999, Turkish Airlines has built a fleet of 90 Boeing 737NGs, mostly 737-800s and -900s. It also previously operated 34 Boeing 737-400s and -500s.
The first Next-Generation 737 was delivered to Southwest Airlines on October 30, 1998 (N707SA • MSN 27481), and it took three years and two weeks to reach the first thousand delivered, also to Southwest Airlines (N418WN • MSN 29823), which also took delivery of the 2000th 737NG in July 2006 (N248WN • MSN 32509).
Since then, the gap between each record has been shrinking. The 3000thNext-Generation 737 was delivered in three years and one month to India’s Jet Airways (VT-JBL • MSN 35651), and the 4000th delivery to China Southern Airlines (B-5283 • MSN 38919) took two years and eight months.
The 5000th Next-Generation 737 built was delivered on July 30, 2014, a C-40 Clipper for the US Navy, taking just two years and three months, with the 6000th aircraft mark just shy of two years.
The current production of the 737 is 42 aircraft per month. Boeing plans to boost the rate to 47 aircraft per month in 2017, 52 in 2018, and to 57 by 2019. This all happens as 737 MAX production begins to come online.
Airways Magazine
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