What's old is new

According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations Secretariat, the year 2050 will mark the first time in human history the percentage of older persons (those over 60 years old) in the world will exceed the percentage of children (0 to 14 years old). By that year, the number of persons over 60 is projected to reach almost 2 billion, and the median age will be 38—up from 26 in 1999.

Members of tomorrow's older generation will be better versed in technology than their predecessors. They'll be more educated, more affluent and more health-conscious than previous generations, and they'll have previous experience on airplanes.

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On a five grand scale

Mechanic Bruce Comer didn't realize he was building a legacy when he began riveting the wings of a 737-100 in 1969. "I was just a young kid—27 years old—when I started," said Comer. "It's remarkable that the 737 is still in such demand, because they almost shut the program down in the early days."

In fact, Boeing almost canceled the program twice—once shortly after launch in 1965, when the 737 received only five orders for the year, and in 1972, when the company sold only 14 airplanes.

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BBJ's Hot 100

Legend has it that the Boeing Business Jet was conceived on the back of a cocktail napkin in 1996 as Phil Condit and Jack Welch—then the CEOs of Boeing and General Electric, respectively—discussed the need for a bigger and better business jet. An extensive user of corporate jets, Welch convinced Condit to develop a high-performance derivative of the Next-Generation 737-700, capable of flying more than 6,000 nautical miles nonstop and offering more cabin space than traditional long-range business jets.

Nine years later, individual owners and government, charter and corporate operators have ordered 102 units. No other manufacturer of ultra-long-range, large-cabin business jets has achieved this milestone. The BBJ sales team, led by BBJ President Steven Hill, won five orders within the past eight months.

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It's a launch!

With a nod from two longtime customers and access to some of the latest airplane technologies in the world, Boeing last month launched the newest 747 airplane, the 747-8 Intercontinental and the 747-8 Freighter.

The airplane received a dual-continent welcome from European cargo operator Cargolux and Tokyo-based Nippon Cargo Airlines. Cargolux, an all-Boeing operator with 14 747-400 Freighters, placed orders for 10 747-8F airplanes and has purchase rights for another 10. NCA, which flies 13 747-400 Freighters, ordered eight 747-8 Freighters and has options for an additional six.

"With the launch of the 747-8, we have now fully transformed our product line and have a better offering for our customers in every segment between 100 and 450 seats," said Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "And our customers' response couldn't be better."

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They help Indonesia fly

The motto of Lion Air, Indonesia's first low-cost carrier, is "We Make People Fly." And as the launch customer of the Boeing 737-900ER (Extended Range), the newest member of Boeing's Next-Generation 737 airplane family, the airline also is set to take off.

Lion Air, based in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been operating an all-Boeing fleet since its inception in June 2000 and in just five years has solidified itself as a market leader. Lion's recent order of up to 60 737-900ERs will further develop its expansion strategy to grow, serve existing markets better and establish new routes.

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A trip to savor

When you design an airplane to fly farther than any other commercial jetliner, what's the logical thing to do with it? You put it on a record-setting flight! That's what Boeing did with the 777-200LR Worldliner last month.

The 777-200LR (Longer Range) established a new world record of 11,664 nautical miles (13,422 statute miles, 21,601 kilometers) for distance traveled nonstop by a commercial airplane when it landed at London's Heathrow Airport on Nov. 10. It departed to the east from Hong Kong on Nov. 9, crossing two oceans and a continent in 22 hours and 42 minutes. With the fuel left over it could have continued on to Paris.

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