Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

Narrow-body

Also: narrowbody, single-aisle aircraft, single-aisle

The aircraft

Airliner with a single cabin aisle and typically four to six seats per row; the most common type on short and medium-haul routes.

What it is

The category is defined by the aisle, not by overall size: a narrow-body has one central aisle with seats on either side, usually four to six abreast in economy, and a fuselage roughly 3 to 4 metres wide on the outside.

The Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families, across their generations, are the most-produced jet airliners ever built and make up the bulk of many airline fleets, especially those of low-cost carriers. Their size suits most routes of up to a few hours and allows quick turnarounds on the ground.

With more efficient engines and extra fuel, recent versions such as the A321LR and A321XLR now fly transatlantic routes, territory long dominated by wide-bodies.

On Vuelopedia

Airbus A320 Boeing 737 Airbus A321

Related terms

Wide-bodyAirliner with two cabin aisles and usually seven to ten seats per row in economy; the dominant type on long-haul routes. FuselageMain body of an aircraft, carrying the crew, passengers and cargo, to which the wings, tail and landing gear are attached. Low-cost carrierAirline built around keeping costs down to sell cheap fares: a single aircraft type, high aircraft utilisation, one cabin class and extras charged separately. Regional aircraftSmaller passenger aircraft, typically with about 30 to 100 seats, designed for short routes and airports with modest traffic. Cabin configurationInterior layout an operator chooses for its aircraft: seat count, classes, seats per row, seat pitch, galleys and lavatories.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Narrow-body. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body

MLA

“Narrow-body.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Narrow-body.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Narrow-body. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_narrow_body,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Narrow-body}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/narrow-body |title=Narrow-body |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it