Summary

• The Boeing 737-900 was intended to compete with the Airbus A321, but fell short of expectations.
• There have been no major crashes in the history of the Boeing 737-900 – 0 hull losses.
• 52 Boeing 737-900s were produced, but only 38 are still in service.

The Boeing 737-900 is an aircraft with a history stretching back six decades. After all, it is a variant of the original Boeing 737, which was designed in the 1960s.

After the first 737 was delivered on January 17, 1967, it went through many variations that eventually led to Boeing’s Next Generation (NG) variants. The longest model in the 737NG family is the Boeing 737-900. Let’s take a closer look at five facts about this longest aircraft in its family.

5 Designed to compete with the Airbus A321

But didn’t really keep up well

The Boeing 737-900 was developed as a competitor to the Airbus A321. The Airbus A321 entered service in 1993, the Boeing 737-900 came eight years later. Both narrow-body aircraft offer space for over 180 passengers (depending on the equipment).

Let’s take a closer look at some of the features of the two aircraft (according to www.flugzeuginfo.net):

Although the 737-900 has a longer range, the A321 has more engine power. The A321 can also carry more passengers.

Some critics argue that a variant of an aircraft envisioned so long ago could not compete with the A321, since Boeing introduced the 737 concept in the 1960s. According to Aviator Insider, the A321 is far superior to the 737-900:

“The Airbus A321 has been outperforming comparable 737 variants since long before the MAX crisis hit, according to data from Cirium. The A321-200 and A321neo variants have outperformed the 737-900, 900ER, MAX 8 and MAX 9 over the past decade. Starting in 2021, Boeing began to close the gap by working through its backlog for the 737 MAX 8, but it is unlikely that the 737 will ever catch up with the A321 again.”

4 Alaska Airlines – the first customer

First flight shortly after the turn of the millennium

The first airline to take delivery of the Boeing 737-900 was Alaska Airlines. The first flight of Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737-900 took place when that airline’s pilots flew the aircraft from the Boeing Delivery Center at Boeing Field in Seattle to the company’s hangar at Sea-Tac International Airport. A group of airline executives was on board the flight.

On this occasion, the then President of Alaska Airlines, Ben Minicucci, was delighted with the delivery, aviationpros.com reported:

“We have been eagerly awaiting this day. It was a proud moment to step aboard our newest 737 aircraft and fly home. This aircraft is an important part of our future. We believe in it, we believe in Boeing and we believe in our employees who will spend the next five weeks training to ensure we are ready to fly our guests safely.”

The aircraft entered commercial service on March 1. Flights departed from the following locations

• Seattle to San Diego (and back)
• Seattle to Los Angeles (and back)

3 There have been no major accidents in the past

No passenger has ever died on this aircraft

An analysis of aircraft accidents between 1959 and 2017 conducted by Boeing found that the Boeing Next Generation series had a hull loss rate of 0.17 per million departures. This was a notable improvement over the hull loss rate of 0.71 per million departures for the classic series and 1.75 for the original series.

The deadliest accident involving a 737NG was Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was shot down after takeoff. This was later described as an act of terrorism.

The 737-900 has a relatively safe history, with no major aircraft accidents. Here’s a look at the 737-900’s impressive statistics according to Aviation Safety Network:

One of the biggest incidents involving the 737-900 occurred on flight LY326 from Paris (CDG) to Tel Aviv. As the aircraft was preparing to taxi, a fire was reported in the cargo hold under the floor.

2 A disappointing number of deliveries

52 produced and only 38 are active

Sales of the Boeing 737-900 barely exceeded fifty. Alaska Airlines, the airline that took the first order for the Boeing 737-900, is the largest operator of this aircraft. Let’s take a look at the airlines that operate the 737-900 in the table below:

There were several reasons why so few airlines operated the Boeing 737-900. One of these was the limited seating capacity. Compared to the next largest aircraft in the NG family, the 737-900’s longer fuselage had:

• Nine percent more cabin floor space
• 18 percent more cargo space

According to an analysis by Justin Foster for Simple Flying, the use of the same emergency exits as the previous variants of the NG family may have led to a limited number of seats despite the larger space available in the 737-900:

“…when Boeing developed the aircraft, the company decided to use the same emergency exits. This arrangement included four main exits and four over-the-wing emergency exits. Because of this, passenger capacity was limited to a maximum of 189 passengers, which was very similar to the capacity of the -800. The -900 variant also retained the same fuel capacity and maximum takeoff weight as the -800, which meant it traded range for its larger size.”

1 The stretched version was ordered ten times as often

More than five hundred 737-900 ERs have been delivered

To compensate for the shortcomings of the 737-900, Boeing developed the Boeing 737-900ER, which featured additional emergency exits just behind the wings. Other changes in the ER version of the 737-900 include:

• Two new additional fuel tanks
• A flat pressure bulkhead at the rear to enlarge the interior cabin
• An increased capacity for up to 220 passengers, comparable to the A321-200

In his book Boeing 737: The most controversial airliner in the worldAuthor Graham M. Simons wrote about the modifications of the ER variant:

“Range was increased to 3,200 nautical miles by installing two additional 1,970-liter (520-gallon) fuel tanks, or 2,800 nautical miles without optional winglets. The 900ER featured strengthened undercarriage legs, wing boxes and keel beam structures to handle the increased maximum takeoff weight of 187,700 pounds.”

The Boeing 737-900ER proved to be far more popular than the aircraft it was designed after: to date, more than five hundred Boeing 737-900 ERs have been delivered.