Germania Breaks Distance Record In Boeing 737-700
     SEATTLE, March 11, 1998 -- German tour operator Germania Flugge-
 sellschaft mbH today helped The Boeing Company's newest jetliner --
 the 737-700 -- set a new distance record, flying the single-aisle
 plane nonstop from Seattle to Berlin.
    The 737-700, the first of the Next-Generation 737 family to enter
 service, weighed in at 62,248 kilograms before takeoff. The plane
 departed Seattle's Boeing Field at 4:26 p.m. PST (0026 Universal
 Takeoff Time), Tuesday, March 10 and arrived in Berlin at 10:53 a.m.
 local time (1053 UTC) Wednesday, March 11. The 9 hour 27 minute
 flight spanned 4,511 nautical miles, breaking the international
 record in the 60,000-80,000-kg weight class. The previous record --
 3,385 nautical miles -- was set in 1993 by another Boeing jetliner,
 the MD-83.
     The airplane, painted in TUI/Germania livery, was fully config-
 ured for passenger service, with 144 seats. Among those participat-
 ing in the record-breaking flight were Germania Managing Director
 Peter Kiessling, team leader; Germania Director-Flight Operations/
 Chief Pilot Thomas Scheel along with accompanying crew and staff;
 representatives from Boeing; and engine maker CFMI. The official
 observer aboard the flight was Jack Sweeney, a board member of the
 National Aeronautical Association, USA.
     Aviation authorities from the United States, Germany and France
 are expected to accept the flight as a new international record for
 its weight class.
     "This record-breaking flight is a testament to the design and
 quality of the Next-Generation 737-700 -- and to the Boeing workers
 who make it," said Germania's Kiessling. "In terms of range, new
 passenger-interior appearance, efficiency and reduced emissions, the
 -700 is perfect for us."
     Germania's delivery marks the first of 12 737-700s the airline
 has ordered. Its all-Boeing fleet also includes 13 737-300s.
     "We have had a good relationship with Germania and are pleased
 they continue to choose Boeing airplanes," said Jack Gucker, vice
 president - 737/757 Derivative Programs. "We have a lot of confi-
 dence in the -700 and we're happy to see it accomplish what we
 expect of it. Based on their needs, the 737-700 will serve them
 well."
     The Next-Generation 737 family -- the 737-600/-700/-800/-900
 models are designed to fly higher, faster, farther and quieter than
 previous models and continues to be the fastest-selling jetliner
 model in history. The Next-Generation 737 models are particularly
 popular among environmentally conscious carriers because of lower
 noise and emissions than competing aircraft.
     The 737-700 is powered by new CFM56-7 engines produced by CFMI,
 a joint venture of General Electric of the U.S. and Snecma of
 France.
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                   UPS pilots accept new contract
    WASHINGTON - March 17, 1998 3:18 p.m. EST - United Parcel Service
 of America Inc. pilots Tuesday overwhelmingly ratified a five-year
 contract that increases their pay and pensions.
     "This is the culmination of 28 months of contract negotiations,"
 said Robert Miller, president of the Independent Pilots Association.
 "It's been a long time for our pilots group."
     The contract, which boosts the pay of the 2,100 pilots by 21
 percent retroactive to December 1995, was approved by a 1,570 to
 324 vote.
     The pilots will get an additional 6 percent pay increase by the
 end of the contract in 2003.
     Miller said the contract raises the average pay of pilots at UPS
 from $102,000 to more than $120,000 annually.
     Starting pilots will get $26,000 a year, jumping to more than
 $45,000 in the second year and topping out at $170,000 after 11
 years, Miller said. The previous top wage was $137,000.
     The contract also has a clause to provide more consistent sched-
 ules for pilots and reduces the hours that pilots will be on call
 when they are not flying.
     It includes a revised pension plan retroactive to January.
     Balloting on the proposed agreement, which was reached in Janu-
 ary, was conducted by mail over the past month.
     The pilots fly in crews of two and three on aircraft ranging in
 size from small 737s to 747s.
     Last August, 185,000 UPS employee members of the International
 Brotherhood of Teamsters struck the package delivery company for 12
 days, paralyzing the company. The pilots were not included in that
 action.
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      Raytheon Aircraft Captures Follow-On Contract For 737s
     WICHITA, Kan. -- Boeing Commercial Airplane Group has awarded a
 follow-on contract to Raytheon Aircraft for 200 additional shipsets
 of control surfaces for the Boeing 737 jetliner.
    Each shipset consists of 48 separate detail parts and assemblies,
 which make up control surfaces such as leading and trailing edges
 and skin assemblies for the Boeing 737 wings. Raytheon Aircraft has
 provided shipsets for the Boeing 737 since 1989. This latest con-
 tract extends production into March of 1998.
     The current-generation Boeing 737s have enjoyed exceptionally
 strong sales and have posted total orders of more than 3,000. The
 737 is ranked as the world's best-selling commercial jetliner in
 aviation history, having surpassed the previous best-seller, the
 Boeing 727, in 1987.
     Raytheon Aircraft, based in Wichita, is a subsidiary of Raytheon
 Company. Raytheon Aircraft designs, manufactures, markets and sup-
 ports jet aircraft as well as turboprop and piston-powered aircraft
 for the world's commercial, military and regional airline markets.
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