Boeing 737-100 / -200
The stubby original — where the best-selling jetliner began · First flight 1967 · In service 1968
The first 737 flew on 9 April 1967. Boeing gave its new short-haul twin the same six-abreast fuselage cross-section as the 707 and 727, and hung its slim Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines directly beneath the wing — a layout every later 737 has kept.
Lufthansa launched the 737-100 and began flying it in February 1968, but only 30 of the short -100s were built. Airlines preferred the stretched 737-200, which first flew on 8 August 1967 and entered service with United Airlines on 28 April 1968. From 1971 the improved 737-200 Advanced, introduced by All Nippon Airways, became the production standard.
The -200 stayed in production for two decades: the last one was delivered to Xiamen Airlines in August 1988. The prototype, N73700, later flew research missions for NASA and is now preserved at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
