B737 Max with 3 419 firm orders - Curt Lewis

The 737 Max is Boeing's fastest-selling jet ever

• GE Aviation Capital orders 75 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
• Boeing deal with Fiji Airways includes Pacific training hub
• Boeing 737 order deferrals raise red flags about global downturn

Another major order was unveiled Wednesday for Boeing's 737 Max passenger jet, which has become the fastest selling Boeing commercial aircraft in the company's history.

The single-aisle Boeing (NYSE: BA) jet has accumulated 3,419 firm orders since it was unveiled in 2011, Boeing Commercial Airplanes says.

Boeing's 737 Max aircraft offer quieter engines and more fuel efficient features than older variants of the 737 family.

Boeing's 737 Max aircraft offer quieter engines and more fuel efficient features than... more

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, ordered 75 Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes before the close of 2016 in a deal worth $8.25 billion at list prices. GE has now ordered 170 of the airplanes, more than any other aircraft leasing company.

What makes the Boeing 737 Max aircraft so special that it is being snapped up by airlines and jet lessors around the world?

Boeing contends it offers lower operating costs than rival planes from Airbus, better fuel efficiency due to its advanced winglets (14 percent less fuel consumption than current 737s), and an unmatched dispatch reliability of 99.7 percent.

The aircraft manufacturer also sells buyers on the fact the 737 Max is quieter than most of today's single-aisle airplanes and has as a 40 percent smaller noise footprint. It comes in three sizes, with passenger seating for between 126 to 220 people.

All that for a jet which has not yet started flying commercially.

They are made exclusively at Chicago-based Boeing's Renton manufacturing plant. The inaugural customer delivery will be in the first half of 2017, a quarter ahead of schedule, Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said.

The launch customer for the new jet is Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), which unveiled an order for 150 jets and 150 options in December 2011. Southwest has now 200 of the jets on order.

The 737 Max started final assembly in 2015 and flew its first test flights in 2016.

You can see who is buying the jet by checking our photo gallery and also checking Boeing's orders and deliveries page.