BOEING DELIVERS POLYNESIAN AIRLINES' FIRST NEXT-GENERATION 737

Boeing hosted a traditional Samoan blessing ceremony yesterday as Polynesian Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 airplane. The airplane will be leased through International Lease Finance Corporation.

"The Boeing 737 airplane is a great fit for our route expansion plans and gives Polynesian Airlines the ability to operate direct services from Apia, Samoa to Australia and Honolulu," said Richard Gates - Polynesian Airlines managing director and chief executive officer. "The Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 airplane is state of the art technology with significant operational cost benefits and the range capability to enable Polynesian Airlines to undertake route expansion, benefiting both Samoan travelers and tourists visiting the South Pacific."

Polynesian Airlines will configure the Next-Generation 737-800 in two classes carrying 154 passengers, 28 more than its current Boeing 737-300. The new airplane also will have 50 percent more freight capacity.

Since 1959, Polynesian Airlines has become one of the Pacific's most significant carriers, linking islanders with families and friends abroad and bringing overseas visitors to experience the diverse and unique cultures of the Pacific Islands.

"Boeing is very pleased to be a part of the growth plan for Polynesian Airlines," said Seddik Belyamani, executive vice president, Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group. "The 737-800 provides great reliability, excellent comfort, more range, and reduced operating and maintenance costs. All in all, it adds better value for all of our customers and is especially well suited to Polynesian Airlines' requirements."

While the Next-Generation 737s are the newest, most-advanced design airplanes in their market segment today, they retain the reliable and economical characteristics that made previous 737 models so popular worldwide. Their dispatch reliability is beyond 99 percent. Dramatic revisions to the newest 737s include a new wing design for improved fuel capacity and increased aerodynamic efficiency. Designers also drew inspiration from the award-winning Boeing 777, placing large displays in the flight deck and updating the passenger cabin with contoured walls and ceilings, creating spaciousness and greater stowage capacity than in earlier 737 models.

The Boeing Next-Generation 737 is the fastest-selling jetliner of all time and is a leader in dispatch reliability. Boeing has logged orders for more than 1,700 Next-Generation 737s since launching the program in 1993.