Boeing 737
Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its factories in Washington state. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating but with two underwing Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines. Envisioned in 1964, the initial 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967 and entered service in February 1968 with Lufthansa. The lengthened 737-200 entered service in April 1968, and evolved through four generations, offering several variants for 85 to 215 passengers. The first generation 737-100/200 variants were powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines and offered seating for 85 to 130 passengers.
Specifications
Figures for the 737-800 variant, the most representative of the family
The type first flew in 1967 (59 years ago) · About 10,200 units built · Production ended in 2019
Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.
The story of the type
Development
Initial design
Boeing had been studying short-haul jet aircraft designs, and saw a need for a new aircraft to supplement the 727 on short and thin routes. Preliminary design work began on May 11, 1964, based on research that indicated a market for a fifty to sixty passenger airliner flying routes of 50 to 1,000 miles (100 to 1,600 km).
The initial concept featured podded engines on the aft fuselage, a T-tail as with the 727, and five-abreast seating. Engineer Joe Sutter relocated the engines to the wings which lightened the structure and simplified the accommodation of six-abreast seating in the fuselage. The engine nacelles were mounted directly to the underside of the wings, without pylons, allowing the landing gear to be shortened, thus lowering the fuselage to improve baggage and passenger access. Relocating the engines from the aft fuselage also allowed the horizontal stabilizer to be attached to the aft fuselage instead of as a T-tail. Many designs for the engine attachment strut were tested in the wind tunnel and the optimal shape for high speed was found to be one which was relatively thick, filling the narrow channels formed between the wing and the top of the nacelle, particularly on the outboard side.
At the time, Boeing was far behind its competitors; the SE 210 Caravelle had been in service since 1955, and the BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111), Douglas DC-9, and Fokker F28 were already into flight certification. To expedite development, Boeing used 60% of the structure and systems of the existing 727, particularly the fuselage, which differs in length only. This 148-inch (3.76 m) wide fuselage cross-section permitted six-abreast seating compared to the rivals' five-abreast. The 727's fuselage was derived from the 707.
The proposed wing airfoil sections were based on those of the 707 and 727, but somewhat thicker; altering these sections near the nacelles achieved a substantial drag reduction at high Mach numbers. The engine chosen was the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 low-bypass ratio turbofan engine, delivering 14,500 pounds-force (64 kN) of thrust.
The concept design was presented in October 1964 at the Air Transport Association maintenance and engineering conference by chief project engineer Jack Steiner, where its elaborate high-lift devices raised concerns about maintenance costs and dispatch reliability.
Major design developments
The original 737 continued to be developed into thirteen passenger, cargo, corporate and military variants. These were later divided into what has become known as the four generations of the Boeing 737 family:
The first generation "Original" series: the 737-100 and -200, also the military T-43 and CT-43, launched February 1965.
The second generation "Classic" series: 737-300, -400 and -500, launched in 1979.
The third generation "Next Generation" series: 737-600, -700, -800 and -900, also the military C-40 and P-8, launched late 1993.
The fourth generation 737 MAX series: 737-7, -8, -9 and -10, launched August 2011.
Launch
The launch decision for the $150 million (~$1.14 billion in 2024) development was made by the board on February 1, 1965. The sales pitch was big-jet comfort on short-haul routes.
Lufthansa became the launch customer on February 19, 1965, with an order for 21 aircraft, worth $67 million (~$507 million in 2024) after the airline had been assured by Boeing that the 737 project would not be canceled. Consultation with Lufthansa over the previous winter had resulted in the seating capacity being increased to 100.
On April 5, 1965, Boeing announced an order by United Airlines for 40 737s. United wanted a slightly larger capacity than the 737-100, so the fuselage was stretched 36 inches (91 cm) ahead of, and 40 inches (102 cm) behind the wing. The longer version was designated the 737-200, with the original short-body aircraft becoming the 737-100. Detailed design work continued on both variants simultaneously.
Introduction
The first -100 was rolled out on January 17, 1967, and took its maiden flight on April 9, 1967, piloted by Brien Wygle and Lew Wallick. After several test flights, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued Type Certificate A16WE certifying the 737-100 for commercial flight on December 15, 1967. It was the first aircraft to have, as part of its initial certification, approval for Category II approaches, which refers to a precision instrument approach and landing with a decision height between 98 and 197 feet (30 and 60 m). Lufthansa received its first aircraft on December 28, 1967, and on February 10, 1968, became the first non-American airline to launch a new Boeing aircraft. Lufthansa was the only significant customer to purchase the 737-100 and only 30 aircraft were produced.
The -200 was rolled out on June 29, 1967, and had its maiden flight on August 8, 1967. It was then certified by the FAA on December 21, 1967. The inaugural flight for United Airlines took place on April 28, 1968, from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The lengthened -200 was widely preferred over the -100 by airlines.
Variants
The Boeing 737 Original is the name given to the -100 and -200 series of the Boeing 737 family. These are sometimes referred to by the nickname 737 Jurassic.
The first variant was the 737-100, the smallest of the 737 aircraft family, which was launched in February 1965 and entered service with Lufthansa in February 1968. In 1968, its unit cost was US$3,600,000 (equivalent to $33,300,000 in 2025). Only 30 737-100s were produced: 22 for Lufthansa, five for Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA) and two for Avianca with the final aircraft delivered to MSA on October 31, 1969. This variant was largely overshadowed by its bigger 737-200 sibling, which entered service two months later.
The original engine nacelles incorporated thrust reversers taken from the 727 outboard nacelles. They proved to be relatively ineffective and tended to lift the aircraft up off the runway when deployed. This reduced the downforce on the main wheels thereby reducing the effectiveness of the wheel brakes. In 1968, an improvement to the thrust reversal system was introduced. A 48-inch (120 cm) tailpipe extension was added and new target-style thrust reversers were incorporated. The thrust reverser doors were set 35 degrees away from the vertical to allow the exhaust to be deflected inboard and over the wings and outboard and under the wings. The improvement became standard on all aircraft after March 1969, and a retrofit was provided for active aircraft. Longer nacelle/wing fairings were introduced, and the airflow over the flaps and slats was improved. The production line also introduced an improvement to the flap system, allowing increased use during takeoff and landing. All these changes gave the aircraft a boost to payload and range, and improved short-field performance.
Both the first and last 737-100s became the last 737-100s in service. The first aircraft used by Boeing as prototype under registration N73700 was later ordered by and delivered to NASA on July 26, 1973, which then operated it under registration N515NA and retired it after 30 years on September 27, 2003. The last 737-100 built and also the last operating was originally sold to MSA, transferred to Air Florida, before being used as a VIP aircraft by the Mexican Air Force for 23 years under registration TP-03. TP-03 would be broken up in 2006. The first 737-100, NASA 515, is on static display in the Museum of Flight in Seattle and is the last surviving example of the type.
The 737-200 was a 737-100 with an extended fuselage, launched by an order from United Airlines in 1965 and entered service with the launch customer in April 1968. Its unit cost was US$4.0M (1968) ($37M today). The -200's unit cost was US$5.2M (1972) ($40M today). The 737-200 Advanced is an improved version of the -200, introduced into service by All Nippon Airways on May 20, 1971. After aircraft #135, the 737-200 Advanced has improved aerodynamics, automatic wheel brakes, more powerful engines, more fuel capacity, and hence a 15% increase in payload and range over the original -200s and respectively -100s. The 737-200 Advanced became the production standard in June 1971. Boeing also provided the 737-200C (Combi), which allowed for conversion between passenger and cargo use and the 737-200QC (Quick Change), which facilitated a rapid conversion between roles. The 1,114th and last delivery of a -200 series aircraft was in August 1988 to Xiamen Airlines.
After 40 years, in March 2008, the final 737-200 aircraft in the U.S. flying scheduled passenger service were phased out, with the last flights of Aloha Airlines. As of 2018, the variant still saw regular service through North American charter operators such as Sierra Pacific Airlines.
The short-field capabilities of the 737-200 led Boeing to offer the Unpaved Strip Kit. This option reduced foreign object damage when operated on remote, unimproved or unpaved runways, that competing jetliners could not use safely. The kit included a gravel deflector on the nose gear and a vortex dissipator extending from the front of the engine.
Where this type is seen
From our logbook: 2,113 aircraft of this type documented at 165 airports.
A count of our own aircraft profiles, year by year, from the public United States flight records: it reflects what we have documented, not the airport’s total traffic.
Overview and history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · technical figures from the manufacturer’s published specifications and standard aviation references
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This page was last updated on October 10, 2026
APA
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BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_model_b737,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Boeing 737}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-10},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/b737},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/b737}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/b737 |title=Boeing 737 |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}