In the words of a Boeing marketing executive, 1984 turned out to be a good year, but not a great year. The 169 orders for commercial airplanes made it the best since 1981 when 193 orders were announced. In 1983, 151 total orders were announced.
The 737-300, an advanced technology version of the popular twin-jet, proved to be the best selling model in the world with 110 orders logged during 1984. For the 737-200 and -300 combined, the 135 announced orders were impressive considering the shape of the US and world economies. That total was exceeded by the Boeing 727 only twice in its 25-year production life, and only once before by the 737.
This is not really a dramatic turnaround, the 737 continued to sell during the past few years while airlines were struggling to maintain profitability. A deregulated airline system in the United States clearly favoured the smaller airplanes during this period of low traffic growth. The 737 logged 69 orders in 1983 for example, which was more than 45% of all airplane sales that year for Boeing.
Other orders for 1984 were 22 big 747s, two 757s and 10 twinjets 767s. Announced value of the 168 orders was US$5,780 million. Domestic US carriers accounted for 67% of Boeing airplane orders during 1984. Company forecasters say that expected traffic growth in 1985 (both US and overseas) likely will result in increased orders for 757s and 767s as airlines find the larger airplanes ideal for more and more route segments.
However, the 737-300 clearly is the present champion. With passenger configurations from 128 to 149 seats, along with 1,068 cubic feet of cargo space, the -300 is the quietest and most fuel-efficient jetliner in its class – fully 30% less fuel burn per seat than older airliners of its size. USAir and Southwest, the kick-off customers for the aircraft type, both placed their first 737-300s into service early in December. A total of 14 customers have ordered 160 of these new commercial airliners.