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.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes 61, would step down immediately and be replaced. Kevin G. McAllister was named president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). For all models sold beginning with the Boeing 707 in 1957, except the 720, Boeing's naming system for commercial airliners has taken the form of 7X7 (X representing a number). All model designations from 707 through 787 have been assigned, leaving 797 as the only 7X7 model name not assigned to a product. For model numbers in the 707 to 777 range, the model number consists of an airplane's model number, for example 707 or 747, followed by a