Boeing president Alan Mulally said in a statement that the company believes that the 737 planes of the future would be made from non-metal materials, or composites.

He was speaking to the media before the Farnborough Air Show. He said that the planes of the future would be made out of composites, as it does not corrode.

Composite materials are formed when two or more materials with differing properties are combined. This kind of material is already used in items such as tennis rackets and bicycle spokes giving them super strength and long life.

Boeing is already constructing their new 787 Dreamliner using carbon fiber-reinforced plastic composites. And they would be using similar materials for their next generation of popular 737 planes.

Mulally also said that most airline companies have already recovered sufficiently from the downturn in the wake of the 11 September attacks.