Boeing was founded in 1916 with a 28-person payroll that included pilots, carpenters, boat builders and seamstresses. At the time, their lowest wage was 14 cents an hour, while the senior most pilots in the company made $200-$300 a month. Today, the company's revenue nears US$81.70 billion. Boeing is the world's leader in the aerospace industry; it is also known for manufacturing the largest number of commercial jetliners. Boeing also provides its customers with rotorcraft, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems. The company headquarters are in Chicago, and it employs over 170,000 people in more than 70 countries worldwide.[Boe13] Boeing holds a 70-year heritage of combined leadership in the aviation industry. The company's first successful commercial aircraft was the Boeing 707, ordered by Pan Am World Airways in October 1955. 56 years later, Boeing released its first, most fuel efficient and technologically advanced aircraft, the "Boeing 787 ", first ordered by ANA (All Nippon Airways) in October 2011. Today, the company has over 12,000 jetliners in service, transporting billions of passengers worldwide safely.[Boe131].
Boeing has designed and manufactured over ten different series/models of aircrafts since its existence, including the 707, 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and the 787. The decisions made by the company's engineers over the decades on their fleet's aerodynamics, flight systems, aircraft design, interiors and engines have been remarkable. Boeing has developed a large variety of commercial jetliners in the past 56 years. Today, Boeing's commercial fleet accounts for almost three-fourths of the total commercial aircrafts in production. Throughout the 56 years, Boeing has produced faster, more fuel efficient, and longer ranged aircraft. The aerodynamics of these aircraft contributes extensively to their performance. (Boeing.com) When airlines started taking on more than they could with passengers on transcontinental routes, Boeing needed to produce larger aircraft with more seats for passengers.
