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Aviation glossary

Boeing customer code

Also: customer code, Boeing customer number

Registration and rules

Two-character code that Boeing assigned to each customer and added to the model designation, as in the 747-436 built for British Airways.

What it is

For decades Boeing identified the original buyer of each aircraft with a two-character code built into the model designation. A 747-400 delivered to Lufthansa is a 747-430, one for British Airways a 747-436, and an American Airlines 777-200 a 777-223. Once the two-digit combinations ran out, letters were added, as in Ryanair's 737-8AS.

The code does not change when the aircraft is sold: a 737-8AS that moves to another airline keeps that designation in its paperwork, revealing who it was originally built for. The code also reflected the specification each customer had ordered. Boeing dropped the system in the mid-2010s, and aircraft built since then, such as the 737 MAX, no longer carry a customer code in their designation.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing Boeing 747 Boeing 737

Related terms

MSNSerial number assigned by the manufacturer to each aircraft which, unlike the registration, stays with it unchanged for its entire life. VariantVersion of an aircraft model that keeps the basic design but changes features such as length, engines, range or intended role. Line numberNumber showing the order in which an aircraft left its type's assembly line; a convention used mainly by Boeing alongside the serial number. Launch customerFirst airline or operator to order a new aircraft model in sufficient numbers for the manufacturer to commit to launching the programme.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Boeing customer code. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code

MLA

“Boeing customer code.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Boeing customer code.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Boeing customer code. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code (Accessed: 20 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_boeing_customer_code,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Boeing customer code}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-20},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/boeing-customer-code |title=Boeing customer code |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-20 |language=en}}

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