Boeing rolls out first 737-900ER to enthusiastic reviews

Indonesian dancers flanked the first 737-900ER outside the final assembly plant in Renton this morning, as Boeing showed off its continued investment in the 737 single-aisle jet.

The first of these latest and largest 737 derivatives is destined for low cost carrier Lion Air of Indonesia, which has ordered 60 of them. As a new derivative, the airplane must undergo certification and flight tests. First flight will be in September with delivery to Lion Air in the first half of 2007. Thereafter, Lion Air plans to take one a month for five years.

In an enthusiastic endorsement speech, Lion Air president Rusdi Kirana said he'd been persuaded quickly to place such a large order by assurances from Boeing salesman Dinesh Keskar.

"We are not only selling you an airplane," Kiran reported Keskar as saying. "We are going to be your partner in the hard days and in the good days."

Kirana said that afterward he journeyed for 17 hours from Indonesia just to meet with Alan Mulally to thank him -- because the new 737s, he said, "are going to make me a millionaire."

Continental Airlines has ordered 12 of the new jets and Sky Airlines of Turkey another three. And GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), the giant aircraft lessor, has ordered the jet for lease to two tourist charter airlines: Futura of Spain and Excel Airways of the U.K. An order from SpiceJet of India is likely to be finalized soon.

The 737 product line competes fiercely with the Airbus A320 family. The 737-900ER, which carries 215 passengers in a single class with a range of 3100 miles, will go head-to-head with the A321. The Airbus jet carries five more passengers, but Boeing claims a 10,000-pound weight advantage that would make the -900ER cheaper to operate and give it 370 miles more range.

Both manufacturers are studying the option of replacing their single-aisle product lines with new jet programs perhaps as early as 2012. But for the moment, the 737 is going strong.

"We don't stop until our customers tell us they don't want it," said Carolyn Corvi, Boeing's vice president of airplane production. "Demand for the airplane is not slacking off."

Boeing has won 400 new 737 orders already this year and has 1,366 orders on backlog.