Boeing 707 version was numbered 707-320. Pan Am was the first airline to operate the 707; the carrier inaugurated 707 service with a christening at National Airport on October 17, 1958, attended by President Eisenhower, followed by a transatlantic flight for VIPs (personal guests of founder Juan Trippe) from Baltimore's Friendship International Airport to Paris. The aircraft's first commercial flight was from Idlewild Airport, New York, to Le Bourget, Paris, on October 26, 1958, with a fuel stop in Gander, Newfoundland. In December, National Airlines operated the first U.S. domestic jet airline flights between New York/Idlewild and Miami, using 707s leased from
Boeing 707 also smaller and slower than the 707. Several major airlines committed only to the (second place in the production race) Douglas DC-8. Douglas Aircraft was the more established and preferred (by airlines and their passengers) maker of passenger aircraft at the time. Douglas had correctly decided to await the validation of a larger and more fuel efficient engine (JT4A from Pratt & Whitney), and to design a larger and longer range aircraft around this engine. To stay competitive, Boeing made a late and costly decision to redesign and enlarge the 707's wing to help increase range and payload. The new