Nearly a half century after the first Boeing 737 joined German carrier Lufthansa’s fleet, the company retired the jets from service in a ceremony in Hamburg.
The jets served Lufthansa well and had an excellent safety record, USA Today reported.
About 148 of various generations of the jets were used over 48 years. The planes will now be taken to Florida and resold.
The ceremony noted that the B737s were often referred to as “Bobby” because of a children’s book that suggested Boeing 727 was the new jet’s mother and the 707 its father.
The training of the first female co-pilots in 1988 and the fact that the B737 was the first to land in newly reunified Germany at Leipzig Airport were also chronicled at the ceremony.
Lufthansa was the first carrier to order Boeing 737s in 1965, and the first delivery came in December 1967.
“Lufthansa has always taken innovative approaches to cater customers’ needs and to take advantage of market opportunities, which is why we played a key role in the B737’s creation and development,” executive board member and head of hub management Harry Hohmeister told USA Today. “We will continue to pursue this innovative approach with the latest generation of aircraft."
The iconic jets will be replaced by the Airbus A32neo for passengers, although two 737s will still be used by its maintenance division for training purposes, Airways Magazine reported.
Boeing 737s are still used by many airlines, including Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Caribbean Airlines, a search revealed. Boeing still counts dozens of customers for its “next generation” 737, including private companies and major carriers.
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