chornedsnorkack

Boeing 4xx is taken, they include Boeing 464.
Boeing 5xx is reserved for turbines.
Boeing 6xx is missiles.
Boeing 9xx is in use as well, including Boeing 953 (a jet), Boeing 901 (a tiltrotor) and Boeing 929 (a ship).

Has there been any Boeing 8xx yet, or is the range reserved for anything?

PhlyingRPh

After the 797, they will probably go with 7107, as in seven ten seven, then 7117, 7127, 7137, etc.

TMOliver

Boeing "2" series occupied by the 1930s era 247 designed to compete with the Douglas "DC"s, the DC-2 & 3. It didn't quite make the grade, carrying only 10 or so (the original DC-2, 14 IIRC). DC-3 upped the stakes to 21.

As for the "3" series, there was the 307 Stratoliner, only 10 built, a contemporary and sharing much of the wing and powerplant layout of the B-17 "Flying Fortress. The 377 Stratocruiser (USAF C-97, KC-97) shared design and much of the platform of the B-29, with an unusual "Double Bubble" fuselage and pressurization. It soldiered on in civilian colors as the first of the refuselaged "Guppy" and "SuperGuppy" freight carriers well into the 90s.
The 314 was the legendary "Clipper' 4 engine seaplanr, while the little known designation, 367, went to DC-8 variants after the McDD merger, a la the "717" renaming of the MD80 series.

tonywestsider

Some thoughts here:

Yes, the 717 was a renamed MD-95.

I thought there was also an R&D version of a Boeing 2707, which was supposed to be a supersonic transport (SST).

I rode a Boeing 929 "Jetfoil", which was a turbine powered hydrofoil that was operating in Hawaii for 2 years in the 1970s.

chornedsnorkack

Counting letters as well as numbers, there has indeed been Boeing 8XX, as I found. Boeing 80 is a biplane with 3 Wasp engines - and the derivative with Hornet engines is Boeing 80A. And a private version is Boeing 226.

Seat 2A

Actually, quite the opposite is true. The MD-95 was developed by McDonnell Douglas as yet another variant of the DC-9 family. When Boeing took over McDonnell Douglas, that airplane was redignated the Boeing 717. The designation "717" was once considered for the smaller, shorter range version of the 707 that went on to become the Boeing 720.

Penbank

I thought they might go with the 909, 929, etc. but that will not be the case because mainland China is launching the 919.

I think the 7 number is preferred. 2707 may be unluckly since the SST named the 2707 was cancelled after Nixon cut off aid.

I'm guessing letters, like the 7E7.

Maybe we'll have the 7A7, 7B7, etc. Later, they might skip numbers so the largest plane will be the 7Y7 and the smallest the 7F7, just like they skipped numbers to have the 747-8 (almost sounds like the -800 and 747-500 and -600 and -700 were skipped).

The 747SP should have been the 747-300SP and the -400 should have been the -500.

cmn.jcs

I thought I read somewhere that Boeing chose 747-8 to to along with the 787.

PhlyingRPh

Agreed.
Another nomenclature oddity was the Boeing 720B, the shorter, stubbier version of the Boeing 707.

tonywestsider

Thank you. What I meant to say was that the MD-95 was renamed the Boeing 717 after Boeing's purchase of MD.

chornedsnorkack

But remember that Boeing 929 is also in use.