Boeing 707 lb (57.8 kN) with water injection. Maximum takeoff weight was 247,000 lb and first flight was on December 20, 1957. Major orders were the launch order for 20 707-121 aircraft by Pan Am and an American Airlines order for 30 707-123 aircraft. The first revenue flight was on October 26, 1958; 56 were built, plus seven short-bodied −138s; the last −120 was delivered to Western in May 1960. The 707-138 was a −120 with a fuselage 10 ft shorter than the others, with 5 ft (three frames) removed ahead and behind the wing, giving increased range. Maximum takeoff weight was
Kuwait Airways delivery; it was informed late that year that the airline would not take them. Three Boeing 707-320Cs were ordered in . The carrier made its first profit ever in 1968, with a net income of £910,000. During 1972, Kuwait Airways' consecutive profitable year, the airline had a net profit of £2.9 million. By , the fleet had reduced to five Boeing 707-320C aircraft. That year, flights to Colombo were launched. At , Faisal Saud Al-Fulaij, who employed 1,800, was the chairman of the corporation. In a deal worth million, two additional ex-Pan American Boeing 707-320Cs were subsequently purchased that year,