# What happens when Boeing runs out of numbers?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 18, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003 "2022-04-18T17:27:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/1 "2022-04-18T17:27:40Z")
What happens when Boeing runs out of numbers? They still have ‘797’ to go. What then? Go to four-digit numbers like ‘7107’ (Seven-Ten-Seven), ‘7117’ (Seven-Eleven-Seven), and so forth? Or do they just stop making airplanes?
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/2 "2022-04-18T17:28:18Z")
Why not an 808?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/3 "2022-04-18T17:28:47Z")
That could be another possibility.
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/4 "2022-04-18T17:44:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Or do they just stop making airplanes?
If they keep selling dangerously flawed aircraft like they have in the last few years, it is going to be a moot point.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/5 "2022-04-18T17:49:24Z")
There are a lot of numbers out there and Boeing has some pretty smart engineers working for them so I bet they’ll find some that don’t start with a 7.
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/6 "2022-04-18T18:04:49Z")
Four-digit airplanes are not unheard-of. There was the [L-1011](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-1011_TriStar). They’ll probably come up with something similar.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/7 "2022-04-18T18:09:29Z")
Or letters: AAA-1.
But for full safety while flying I’d suggest: Lhd\*3.((sdjJhdu%@^fgdD-17
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/8 "2022-04-18T18:11:08Z")
A lot of their development goes into just [updating and replacing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Yellowstone_Project) the existing 7x7 models. There is an [unnamed model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_New_Midsize_Airplane) in development that will theoretically be the 797.
[This page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Commercial_Airplanes#Aircraft_in_production_or_development) says they’re looping future production back to the 737 replacements after 2030, so there’s not even anything on the horizon for new numbers.
It strikes me that there’s a fair bit of marketing value in the 7x7 designation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they continue to use the existing designations with new suffixes rather than switch to 8x8.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/9 "2022-04-18T18:11:42Z")
Didn’t they have some problems, like stewardesses seeing Ernest Borgnine in a microwave?
But back to the OP. They could do like the US Air Force and just start the numbers over.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/10 "2022-04-18T18:12:02Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#):
>
> There are a lot of numbers out there
But even if it’s not complex, this is still a real problem.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/11 "2022-04-18T18:13:29Z")
That joke was so subtle, it was practically imaginary.
ETA: OP, this seems like an IMHO question more than FQ, unless we know some of us work for Boeing and are at liberty to share.
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### Author:  [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/12 "2022-04-18T18:14:30Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> But even if it’s not complex, this is still a real problem.
well done sir, well done.
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/13 "2022-04-18T18:16:49Z")
> [@snowthx](#):
>
> Four-digit airplanes are not unheard-of. There was the [L-1011](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-1011_TriStar). They’ll probably come up with something similar.
What people don’t realize is that the Lockheed model numbers were in binary, and they were prevented by federal law from building a Model 12 (“1100”) which is what caused Lockheed to exit the commercial airline business.\*
Stranger
\*Yes, I’m joking.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/14 "2022-04-18T18:23:26Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> \*Yes, I’m joking.
I thought that was a bit unlikely.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/15 "2022-04-18T18:36:40Z")
Or 807 if they want to continue at least ending with 7, but ruining the symmetry. Or 7A7, 7B7, 7C7, etc. I’m sure they’ll manage. So far as I can tell, there’s no official information as to how they will continue the numbering after the 797. I suspect that may very well just be something they deal with when they come to it. There’s infinite possibilities.
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/16 "2022-04-18T18:51:57Z")
Maybe they’ll change it up and start a new pattern, like B…- - -…
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/17 "2022-04-18T18:52:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Or 7A7, 7B7, 7C7, etc.
7-zark-7…
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/18 "2022-04-18T19:24:30Z")
IIRC the supersonic airliner Boeing never built was going to be called the 2707. So that’s another option – 2707, 2717, and so on.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/19 "2022-04-18T19:31:04Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#):
>
> Why not an 808?
Or they could start the 606 series. 606, 616, 626… I don’t anticipate any problem there.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-boeing-runs-out-of-numbers/963003/20 "2022-04-18T20:08:39Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> What people don’t realize is that the Lockheed model numbers were in binary, and they were prevented by federal law from building a Model 12 (“1100”) which is what caused Lockheed to exit the commercial airline business.\*
>
> Stranger
What if the plane wants to identify as non-binary?
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> \*Yes, I’m joking.
[Emily Litella]
nevermind
[/EL]
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