I wonder...

As the world's leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners, Boeing receives more than 10,000 requests each year from students, teachers, travelers and others who want information on our company and our products. We have developed this section of our web to answer some frequently asked questions. We hope it contains information of use to you and helps you find information either in your local library or elsewhere. Thank you for your interest in Boeing.

Why the number 7?

Who builds the engines for Boeing ?

Amazing facts and figures

Aviation organizations

Why the number 7?

People often want to know why Boeing uses the number 7 to designate its commercial airplanes. The answer dates back to the earliest days of the company.

Our first airplane was, not surprisingly, designated with the number 1. From then on, Boeing products were grouped into series, which were given numbers such as 200, 300 and so forth. When the first prototype jet transport was designed in the 1950s, its breakthrough characteristics were disguised by giving it the designation of the older Stratocruiser models in the 300 series. When the airplane was unveiled, it was given its own official series -- 700. The first of this new series was called the 707. Since then, the 700 series has been used for all Boeing jetliners. The numbers in the 700 series are assigned in the order the airplanes are designed, not by the number of engines or the date of introduction.

Who builds the engines for Boeing ?

Boeing commercial airplanes are powered by engines from four engine manufacturers. To learn more about these companies, you may contact them at the addresses below.

CFM International
Director, Media Relations
GE Aircraft Engines
One Neumann Way
Cincinnati, OH 45215-6301

General Electric
Director, Media Relations
GE Aircraft Engines
One Neumann Way
Cincinnati, OH 45215-6301

Pratt & Whitney
Director, Public Relations
400 Main Street
East Hartford, CT 06108

Rolls-Royce
Director, Public Affairs
65 Buckingham Gate
London, England SW1E 6AT

Amazing facts and figures

A company the size of Boeing generates some astonishing achievements and mind-boggling numbers. Here are a few:

• Each day, Boeing jetliners around the world carry more than two-and-one-half-million passengers.
• Just the fuel carried aboard a 747-400, the world's largest commercial jetliner, weighs more than a dozen B-17 World War II bombers.
• America's most elite fleet, the three Boeing-built, battery-powered lunar rovers, is still "parked" on the moon.
• Boeing designed and built the first stage of the Saturn V moon rocket, the biggest booster ever with 7.5 million pounds of thrust - equivalent to more than 130 of today's most powerful jet engines (747 type).
• The company's telephone network, operated by Boeing Information & Support Services, handles more than one million calls per day.
• If all the covered floorspace (factory and office) where Boeing employees work were housed in office buildings, it would take more than 30 skyscrapers the size of New York's Empire State Building.

The aviation industry is made up of thousands of companies both large and small from all over the world. Some build airplanes, engines and equipment; others operate commercial and freight air services. To learn more about them and the careers they offer, contact the following organizations:

Aviation organizations

Aerospace Industries Association of America, Inc.
1250 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

Air Transport Association of America
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004-1707

International Airline Pilots Association
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

National Aeronautics & Space Administration Headquarters
300 E Street SW
Washington, DC 20546