April 1965 Boeing Sales Brochure for the then soon to be Boeing 737-100 Airliner
The Boeing 737 is the best selling airliner ever built. With hindsight it is easy to see this was going to be a successful jet airliner, but at the time, Boeing already had the larger 707 and 727 and it was not certain that the 737 was going to be successful. Boeing felt there was a market for shorter routes to have jet service and airlines were looking to replace props. Boeing needed to sell the new 737 to airlines and in 1965 made a marketing brochure that I wanted to share. Lucky for us, Gordon Werner was able to get a hold of one of these books and put it up on Flickr. The brochure is 40 pages, but I wanted to share some gems.
Boeing showed potential airline customers how they could configure the 737 in 6, 5 or 4 abreast seating.
Did you know that Boeing promoted the 737 as able to carry four, five and six abreast seating? Boeing was looking for an aircraft originally that could carry 50-60 passengers on routes from 50-1000 miles. Today, the 737 is capable of carrying 220 passengers (737-900ER) and go farther than 6,000 miles (737-700ER).
From the brochure, “Now, the 737 offers the public jet speed, comfort, and convenience on routes as short as 100 miles.”
The 2-3 layout in this 737 mock up (I am assuming it is a mock up) shows how roomy the 737 could have been.
The 737-100 first rolled out on January 17, 1967 and was delivered to Lufthansa Airlines on December 28, 1967. This particular model was only built until 1973, but obviously other models are still being produced today. The Boeing 737 lineage will continue with the introduction of the new MAX variants.
The brochure states, “The 737 fills out Boeing’s family of jetliners specificaly designed to serve a variety of markets. In the mid-1950’s the popular 707 concentrated on the continental markt and longer routes with one stop. Later the 707-320 and -320B extended the nonstop range to 6000 miles… Now the 737 offers the public jet speed, comfort, and conveniene on routes as short as 100 miles. Fully certificated 737’s scheduled for delivery beginning in late 1967 offer attractive profit potentials. Boeing jets have proved profitable in the past. The 737 will pay off in the future.”
Boeing compares the 737 to the 727.
If you have some time to burn today, make sure to look through each of the 40 pages on the Boeing 737-100 brochure and share some of the more interesting things you find in the comments. A big thanks to Gordon for putting these online and allowing me to share.
Long live the Tin Mouse! It seems Boeing had little idea their little unique invention would become one of the highest selling aircraft series ever. I love the retro ads and marketing.
The 2-3 seat configuration is wild too. Boeing must have though they couldn’t go wider (3-3) without a 3rd engine a la the 727. I would surmise that engineering improvements in aerodynamics, materials and turbo-fan power from the -100 to the -200 allowed for more pax.
No hush kits back then.
No hush kits, but I remember reading in there how it was a quiet aircraft and up to the standards of other airliners. Ha!
David
JAL receives a 3-2 configuration with big bins on the right and standard bins on the left which shifts the aisle 2+ inches.
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Revenue cost calculations assumptions: $.10 per gallon for jet fuel!! Hoo-Haw. If they only knew!
How did you like the overhead storage? I also noticed an absence of crying babys and sweatshirted slobs in the promo shot of the interior. Those were the days!
T.
Regarding, “No hush kits, but I remember reading in there how it was a quiet aircraft and up to the standards of other airliners. Ha!”
I lived under SeaTac’s final approach (Boulevard Park) until 1961. When a 707 or DC8 came in, throttled back for landing, you literally could not shout loud enough to be heard. Watching the 787 first flight from beside the runway, one could hear normal conversations during full takeoff thrust. We’ve come a long way….
I don’t know if you’ve seen this but it’s a 1978 concept on the 757, 767, and 777.
http://i.imgur.com/S63UN.jpg
piedmont airlines actually flew the b737 in a two-three configuration as late as july 1978…….i know this to be true as i flew on a piedmont hop scotch fare from ny-lga to fayettvill/ft.bragg to myrtle beach – atl (the old airport). the double seats were on the left side of the airplane and the triple seats were on the right side of the airplane when facing forward. there was a club style table with rear facing seats just behind the r1 door. an enormous packaged cold snack was served on each segment into atl.
the piedmont b737 i flew on had two flight attendants with a rear air stair attached to the L2 door and an integral airstair stowed under the L1 .
for $98 bucks round trip is was bargain and was worth every penny.
at that time in history was also still flying ys-11 aircraft on local routes that were to small to support b737 service.
My love of 737 100 returns back to my childhood . Since then my mind has been obsessed by the unique design of this aircraft and now its in my deepest brain cells . I love it so much even while I am 44 of age .
Thanks david ! For the rememberance
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