Posted online by John Gillie

at 9:49 a.m. Friday

An order for 26 Boeing 737-800s from American Airlines fattened Boeing’s 2008 order book to 577 planes this week.

The order was six aircraft larger than American had previously revealed. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is in a rush to replace its fuel-guzzling MD-80s with more modern and fuel-stingy 737s.

The American order brings the 737 order total for the year to 449. The 737 is the most popular of Boeing’s line of airliners.

At the current order rate through the first 71/2 months of the year, Boeing will net about 950 orders for the year. That’s nowhere near the 1,400 pace of last year, but a healthy year by historic standards.

From our real estate blog Open House