Boeing 707 Douglas competition, Boeing soon realized this would not provide a viable payload, so it widened the fuselage to to allow five-abreast seating and use of the KC-135's tooling. Douglas Aircraft had launched its DC-8 with a fuselage width of . The airlines liked the extra space and six-abreast seating, so Boeing increased the 707's width again to compete, this time to . The first flight of the first-production 707-120 took place on December 20, 1957, and FAA certification followed on September 18, 1958. Both test pilots Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn and James R. Gannett were awarded the first Iven C.
Longest flights in 23 hours, 19 minutes. In June 1961, an El Al Boeing 707-320 flew a route from New York City-JFK to Tel Aviv averaging 9 hours, 33 minutes. This route was previously tested in December 1957 with a Bristol Britannia. In August 1967, Aerolíneas Argentinas established its non-stop Boeing 707-320B service on a route between Madrid and Buenos Aires with a flight time of 12 hours. The arrival of the more fuel-efficient turbofans made easier the possibility of longer flights. The Aerolíneas Argentinas route was the longest scheduled flight by distance until 1976, when the Boeing 747-SP entered service. In