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.
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,