Boeing has built passenger aircraft since the 1930s, and each generation brought a milestone of its own. This list runs from the 247 of 1933 to the newest 737 variant, with the 727 marking the first commercial airplane to pass 1,000 sales. Here are twelve Boeing airliners, in order of their debut.
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1. Boeing 247: Early Modern Airliner
Boeing introduced the 247 in 1933, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum describes it as the world’s first modern airliner. It arrived at the start of the period that this list follows through to the Dreamliner. See the Smithsonian airliner history for the source.
Every later Boeing passenger aircraft on this page builds on that starting point. Its place at number one reflects the date in the headline, since 1933 is the year that anchors the whole sequence.
2. Boeing 307 Stratoliner: First Pressurized Airliner
The Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the world’s first pressurized airliner, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Only 10 were built, so it never became a mass-market type. See the Smithsonian Stratoliner account for the source.
Pressurization is the feature that defined it, and the small production run shows how early the idea arrived. The record rests on that single claim of being first rather than on sales.
3. Boeing 707: America’s First Jet Airliner
The 707 was America’s first jet airliner and entered service in 1958. Boeing built 855 of them, a figure the Smithsonian story cites directly. See the Smithsonian 707 history for the source.
That total made it a far larger program than the piston-era Boeing airliners ahead of it on this list. It also sets the baseline for the seat comparison made with the 747 further down. Together, those details place it well ahead of Boeing’s earlier propeller aircraft in scale.
4. Boeing 727: Passing 1,000 Sales
Boeing built 1,832 examples of the 727, and the company’s own history calls it the first commercial airplane to break the 1,000-sales mark. That milestone is the second half of this gallery’s headline. See the Boeing company products history for the source.
Selling past 1,000 units was unprecedented for a commercial airplane at the time, according to that same document. The build total shows how far beyond the threshold the 727 went.
5. Boeing 737: Most Ordered Plane
By 1987, the 737 was the most ordered plane in commercial history, according to Boeing’s company history. The 10,000th 737 was built in 2018. See the Boeing products history PDF for the source.
Those two markers sit three decades apart, which shows how long the program kept accumulating orders. The 737 MAX 10 at the end of this list carries that family name into a new certification. The family name returns at the very end of this gallery with the newest variant.
6. Boeing 747: Revolutionizing Long-Distance Travel
The 747 entered service in 1970 and, in the Smithsonian’s words, revolutionized long-distance air travel. It carried 400 seats, against 189 on the 707. See the Smithsonian 747 overview for the source.
That is more than double the 707’s seating, which explains the museum’s wording. The comparison is the clearest single measure of the jump in size from one Boeing jet generation to the next. Seat count is the detail the Smithsonian comparison puts front and center.
7. Boeing 757: A Production Run of 1,050
Production of the 757 reached 1,050 aircraft built for 54 customers. Eastern put the type into service on Jan. 1, 1983. See the Wikipedia 757 article for the source.
The Eastern date marks the start of a long career for a single-aisle Boeing. The customer count shows the sales were spread across many airlines instead of resting on a few. Those figures come from the Wikipedia summary of the program rather than a Boeing release.
8. Boeing 767: Transatlantic ETOPS Pioneer
The 767-200 was the first aircraft used on transatlantic ETOPS flights, with TWA flying the route in 1985. In all, 1,377 767s were built. See the Wikipedia 767 article for the source.
That first came only a few years after the 757’s debut, so Boeing’s twin-engine widebody was breaking ground quickly. The production total confirms that the type kept selling well beyond that milestone. The Wikipedia entry for the 767 carries both figures, which keeps the sourcing for this entry simple.
9. Boeing 777: 100 Percent Digital
The 777 was the first jetliner to be 100 percent digitally designed, according to Boeing’s company history. It was also the first airplane to have a rose named after it. See the Boeing digital design history for the source.
The digital design claim ties the 777 to a shift in how airliners were drawn and assembled. The rose is a lighter footnote recorded in the same document. Both details appear together in the company’s product history, which is why they share an entry here.
10. Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Dhaka Record and 1,000th Order
The 787 Dreamliner flew to Dhaka in 2011 to set a longest-flight record for its weight class. Its 1,000th customer order followed in November 2013. See the Boeing Dreamliner milestones for the source.
The two milestones, one operational and one commercial, both come from Boeing’s own account. They put the newest passenger design in this gallery in the same league as its high-selling predecessors. The Boeing document records both achievements, which is why the Dreamliner earns a closing spot in the passenger lineup.
11. Boeing 747 Dreamlifter: Flying Parts Hauler
The Dreamlifter is a 747-400 rebuilt to carry 787 parts. Its cargo hold offers three times the volume of a 747-400 freighter. See the Wikipedia Dreamlifter entry for the source.
It is not a passenger aircraft, but it earns its slot because the Dreamliner program depends on it. The comparison with the standard 747-400 freighter shows how heavily the airframe was modified. Its listing here rests on the Wikipedia article’s volume comparison, the only figure used for this entry.
12. Boeing 737 MAX 10: Certified in October 2026
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the amended type certificate for the 737 MAX 10 in October 2026. It is the biggest member of the MAX family. See the FAA certification announcement for the source.
The certificate arrived after what the agency describes as years of extensive review. It closes this list on the most recent Boeing airliner milestone, linking back to the 737 that opened the family. The FAA announcement is the source for the certification, so no sales figures are quoted for this variant.
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