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Boeing 737

Boeing · Narrowbody · In production (MAX series)

The best-selling airliner in history.

Length39.52 m
Wingspan35.92 m
Range6,480 km
MTOW82 t
Typical seats178
Built11,700+
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by aircraft.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Seats per metre#16 of 35
4.50 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#19 of 65
78.8 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#28 of 68
0.91 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#40 of 68
2.08 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#29 of 65
7.4 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#29 of 35
462 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Boeing 737's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

Boeing 73735.92 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length (MAX 8)39.52 m
Wingspan35.92 m
Height12.30 m
MTOW82,191 kg
Range6,480 km
Typical seats178 (2-class)
Maximum seats210
Engines2 × CFM LEAP-1B
First flight (MAX)29 January 2016
Family first flight9 April 1967

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Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

No airliner has been built in greater numbers than the 737 — roughly 11,700 across four generations since 1967, with thousands more on order. If you have flown, you have almost certainly flown on one. It is short, low to the ground (a 1960s decision to suit airports with no jet bridges), and unmistakable in profile: the stubby dropped nose and the dorsal fin fillet along the spine.

That low stance became the family's defining engineering constraint. Every new generation of larger engines had to be squeezed under the same short landing gear — which is why 737 nacelles are famously flattened at the bottom, and why the MAX's bigger LEAP engines had to be mounted further forward and higher.

The numbers here are for the MAX 8, the current generation's core variant. The family spans everything from the 85-seat -500 to the 230-seat MAX 10.

Common questions

Boeing 737 — the short answers

How fast is the Boeing 737?
The Boeing 737 cruises at about 876 km/h — roughly 473 knots, or 544 mph.
How far can the Boeing 737 fly?
The Boeing 737 has a maximum range of about 6,480 km (3,499 nautical miles, 4,027 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 7.4 hours in the air.
How many people does the Boeing 737 carry?
A typical Boeing 737 carries 178 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the Boeing 737 still in production?
Status: In production (MAX series). The Boeing 737 first flew in 1967, and about 11,700 have been built.
How big is the Boeing 737?
The Boeing 737 is 39.52 m long with a wingspan of 35.92 m and a height of 12.3 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 82,191 kg.
Variants

The Boeing 737 line

737-100 / -200 (Original)
Where it all started, 1967.
737 Classic (-300/-400/-500)
CFM56 power, 1980s.
737 NG (-600/-700/-800/-900)
The definitive generation — the -800 is the Scale Engine reference aircraft.
737 MAX (7/8/9/10)
Current generation. MAX 8 spec shown above.
Operators

Who flies the Boeing 737

The top 25 operators by fleet size, of 500+ worldwide — the rest are aggregated below. Counts marked ≈ are approximate, verified 2026-07-14.

USSouthwest AirlinesThe largest 737 fleet in the world and an all-737 airline: 305 × 737-700, 198 × 737-800 and 300 × 737 MAX 8.803
FRRyanairEurope's biggest airline runs an all-737 fleet.≈600 UAUnited Airlines≈390 AAAmerican Airlines≈345 DLDelta Air Lines≈270
USAlaska AirlinesAll-Boeing mainline fleet.≈230
CZChina Southern Airlines≈190
CNShenzhen AirlinesEffectively an all-737 operation.≈170
CNXiamen AirlinesHistorically an all-Boeing airline.≈160
CAAir China≈150
BRGol Linhas AéreasBrazil's all-737 carrier.≈140
MUChina Eastern Airlines≈130
CNShandong Airlines≈130
CAWestJet≈110
PACopa AirlinesThe all-737 hub carrier of the Americas.≈110
MXAeromexico≈100
IDLion Air≈100
AEflydubaiAn all-737 airline built around the MAX.≈90
GBJet2.com≈90
NONorwegian≈85
TKTurkish Airlines≈80 QFQantasThe 737-800 is the backbone of the domestic network.≈75
TRSunExpress≈70
GBTUI Airways≈60
NHAll Nippon Airways737-800s on Japanese domestic and regional routes.≈39
Other operatorsMore than 475 further airlines worldwide fly the 737 — no airliner has a broader operator base. Counts on this page are fleet-report approximations pending the full verification pass the A380 and A350 lists received.≈2,500+