Is this THE END of the Boeing 737?!

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Why is the Boeing 737 still around? I know some of you think you know the answer, and that it has to do with type ratings and training costs. But what I’m asking here is something more fundamental: HOW is it even possible for the 737, a design dating back to the 1960s, to still be in production in 2024?

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Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode.

[primordialmeow]

Old, retired flight attendant here. Worked on both the 727 and 737. My absolute favorite though: Bidding the galley position on the old DC-10. Down in the belly of the aircraft we could roll up our sleeves, crank up the ovens and the radio, ditch the high heels and put our sneakers on and send the trays up and down the food elevator. Oh man those were the days!

[djluxy]

Hey Petter, great video as always, but regarding your sponsor betterhelp, they were found to sell their users data to other companies, while stating that their data would not be shared with anyone according to their privacy policy. That is pretty terrible considering their users were vulnerable to begin with. I'm sure there are a lot of good sponsors who would like to be featured in your videos.

Edit: misspelled name.

[howlingwolven]

As a Canadian, I’m still salty over how Boeing tried to kill the Cseries through regulatory strongarming and in essence forced Bombardier to sell out to Airbus.

[VNExperience]

Thanks, Petter! ❤
Long-time planespotter and aviation enthusiast here. My first flight was on a Finnair Caravelle and it was thrilling. The next on was on a PanAm 707 to NYC and it was also amazing and delightfully different from the first one.
I got bitten by the aviation bug at 3 years old and my dearest childhood pastime was riding my bicycle to this "viewing spot" at the end of a runway (fenced off of course) and we'd spend hours watching planes land and take off. Asked my mom for a camera for my birthday. Got it! Probably used up a thousand rolls of film.

Loved the 727, later 737, 757
, DC-9/ -10, Airbus 320 series, and of course all the prop planes and military jets!

Now, many years later, I'm finally working in aviation sales & supply chain, basically selling and stocking airplane parts to airlines and MROs in Asia. This allows me to travel all over Asia to meet customers, get to know them, build and foster relationships with them, and observe their maintenance and repairs operations on Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, ATR, DHC and other amazing aircraft. As it turns out, many of them are AvGeeks too! 🎉

I honestly couldn't be happier now, finally working in something I'm actually profoundly passionate about, having tried my hand at several jobs, from HR to management in IT, lots of jobs over the years. I never felt excited waking up to a new day but instead hitting snooze on the alarm clock was practically a daily occurrence for 15 years.

Sorry for the long post and thank you if you're still reading this. 🙏
Just wanted to share my bit and express my immense appreciation for aviators/educators like Petter - and all you wonderful people who love aviation! 🛫✈🪂🛩🛬 ❤

[ethans]

Its crazy how the 737 is 60 years old, 60 years before that was the Wright brother’s first flight

[aidanclarke]

"Honey, I found 4 bolts in your trousers. I've put them with the other ones"

[musmuk]

The rough landings of the 737 make the 320 family shine in my opinion.
However, flying onboard the 220 is wonderful!

[jmi]

There’s an old FedEx 727 that flies out of KPTK often. Flight path and altitude take it slightly over a mile from my house and I always know it that one since it's twice as loud as any other aircraft leaving that airport.

[lukemauerman]

As a flight attendant who is old enough to have started working on the 737 since the -200 days, my requirements of an aircraft are somewhat different than fuel economy and bypass ratios. For me the tiredness of this old old airframe is that with all versions up to and including the -800 Next Gen, the front lavatory toilet seat doesn't have room to stay upright because it doesn't' fit against the fuselage. The practical upshot of this is that we have an airframe that has been in service since 1967 where you have to hold the toilet seat up with one hand in order to pee. I cannot generate enthusiasm for this.

[MaxPower-]

I would argue that the big “leap” in the 737 series’ development wasn’t between the 737 Classic and the 737 Next Generation series but between the original 737 and the 737 Classic series in the early 1980s since that’s when the design changed considerably, with the low-bypass engines being replaced with high-bypass ones. That gave the wing a whole new look and all the 737 variants since have basically been tweaks of the Classic (737-300/400/500) series.

[charisselinnell-morton]

My Grandfather was on the original design team at Boeing when they made the original design for the Boeing 737 100 .😊He was appalled at the MAX .

[boyvanurk]

Hello Petter, Such an interesting history this 737 aircraft has. So many things can be said about it from many different angles. I retired on the 737NG fleet of 'my' airline and flew a selection of different types in operational life. I'd like to share my feeling towards/experience with it. To me, the 737 felt like 'a steam tractor in the skies'. Powerful machine with little suspension in gear or wings, giving a stiff ride. Found the NG more 'jumpy' in turbulence than the older versions. A very sturdy and reliable airplane. Watching cabin attendants go down on their knees to arm or disarm the slides gave an association with an era gone by and looked sort of strange, as if operating a museum aircraft. Its powerful engines saved the day a few times in severe shear and turbulence and I loved the power and reliability of these technological marvels. On this type I only experienced engine failures in the simulator which can not be said of some other brands/types I flew. I experienced the 737 as a demanding aircraft to fly in turbulent weather: especially the NG had a tendency to divert from its trimmed condition and needed small control inputs continuously in which it differed from other types like the 767. The type never let me down which may also be credit to the maintenance standards of the airline: apart from a few deactivated reversers, auto brake u/s and an IRS fault, only the coffee-makers broke down. Ceiing 41.000 on NG instead of 37.000 on the older ones often was helpful to stay just above some weather. Liked the 'old fashioned' overhead panel with all the toggle switches, it really felt like something from the past after visiting a 787 or A350 simulator. There will be a day when 737 production is over. Wish that Boeing may find inspiration, courage and funding to design a successor. Conclusion: my days on the 737 did not leave a romantic feeling or fond memories of a gorgeous looking airplane or one flying like 'a pilots dream'. As a workhorse however it was the most dependable type for me in many aspects. Great machine to get the job done. Thank you 737 🙂.

[SueBobChicVid]

I have fond memories of the 727. It was the first airplane I flew on as a kid. We used the rear stairs to deplane.

[InvertedFlight]

Wow, and not a word about the fund managers that are now running Boeing and are using their legacy aircraft to squeeze out profit without actually doing what has been needed for a very long time. A brand new clean sheet design.

[grdja]

I kept thinking something has been missing from your channel for a while but I couldn't figure it out.
The couch, and the adorable doggos sleeping on it!

[MarkLotus]

Peter,
My pilot friend suggested that Boeing’s mistake was trying to fit engines that were ‘too large’ on a platform with such short landing gear. His recommendation was to use the 757 platform with taller landing gear. The 757 has the same cockpit and the engines would have fit perfect. Boeing’s choice to force fit the engines resulted in a compromise in safety as the engineering solution was non-optimum. With flying, you need a six-sigma solution and the safety compromises were their failure. They could have shortened the 757 to the size of the 757 and called it the 737 MAX, a perfect name for a taller, more impressive plane without the safety problems; and training would be similar.

[gnicholson]

When Petter you point out that B737 has been in service for 56/7 years please remember that the Vickers Viscount, the first turboprop airliner, was in service for 56 years 1953-2009, which for an aircraft developed at that time was an incredible achievement.

I flew them for BEA/BA 1970-1975 and later 1989-1990. Then B737

[mattskovran]

DB Cooper loved the practicality of the engineering design of integrated airstairs.

[myth-n-myhem]

always enjoyable and informative. Truly like how you show issues in context of time and other factors like competitors

[Stvescr]

Video very well formatted. Good comparisons' and clarity without going into too much detail. Thanks.