Airliner World – May 2018

The 737-900ER is the biggest

of the NG series and can

accommodate up to 220

passengers in a single-class

layout. AVIATION IMAGE

NETWORK/SIMON GREGORY

The fourth iteration of the

best-selling twinjet, the

737 MAX, features a raft of

refinements and improve-

ments which, according to

Boeing, reduce fuel burn by

11-12% and lower operating

costs by 7% compared with

the NG. BOEING

http://www.airlinerworld.com 37

Family Evolution

Model 737-200 Adv 737-400 737-800 737 MAX 8

Passengers 130 170 189 210 (737-8-200)

Engines (x2) JT8D-15A (15,500lb) CFM56-3C (23,500lb) CFM56-7 (24,200-27,300lb) CFM Leap-1B (26,786–29,317lb)

Length 100ft 2in (30.53m) 119ft 7in (36.45m) 129ft 6in (39.50m) 129ft 8in (39.52m)

Wing Span 93ft (28.35m) 94ft 9in (28.88m) 117ft 5in (35.80m) 117ft 10in (35.9m)

Max Take-Off Weight 128,100lb (58,105kg) 150,000lb (68,039kg) 174,200lb (79,015kg) 181,200lb (82,191kg)

Range 2,596 miles (4,179km) 2,879 miles (4,633km) 3,582 miles (5,765km) 4,085 miles (6,570km)

Going MAX
Conscious of the growing importance
of passenger experience in gaining
customer loyalty for its airline clients,
in October 2010 Boeing revealed a new
737 cabin configuration. Named ‘Sky
Interior’ and taking advantage of work
for the 787 Dreamliner cabin, it incor-
porated an LED lighting system, revised
stowage bins and all-new ceiling and
wall panels, designed to maximise
space and optimise comfort. Low-cost
operator flydubai was first to introduce

the product, quickly followed by

Malaysia Airlines, Jetairfly, Continental

and Norwegian; the latter taking the

1,000th -800 with a Sky Interior during

February 2014.

Boeing followed the new cabin with

a performance improvement package

aimed at reducing fuel consumption by

2%, along with a commensurate low-

ering of carbon emissions. However,

these upgrades served only to keep the

NG competitive. For the future, airlines

were looking for huge improvements in

fuel burn and when Airbus announced

its re-engined A320neo in December

2010, Boeing was obliged to react.

The manufacturer had been

considering a clean-sheet replacement

for the 737 since the mid-2000s, but

once again opted to improve the 1960s’

design. Significantly, it elected to stick

with the engine-sourcing strategy that

helped it secure huge numbers of orders

for its previous-generation aircraft. This

meant continuing its longstanding

relationship with CFM International

and replacing the popular and reliable

CFM56 with its successor, the Leap-1B.

Elsewhere, the fourth iteration of the

best-selling twinjet – named the 737

MAX – features a raft of refinement

and improvements that, according to

Boeing, reduce fuel burn by 11-12% and

lowers operating costs by 7% compared

with the NG.

Launching the MAX in August

2011, Nicole Piasecki, VP Business

Development and Strategic Integration,

Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said:

“The 737 MAX will deliver maximum

efficiency, maximum reliability and

the Boeing Sky Interior will continue to

offer maximum passenger comfort. We

call it the 737 MAX because it optimises

everything we and our customers have

learned about designing, building,

maintaining and operating the

The MAX bears

more than a passing

resemblance to its

predecessors but

incorporates several

significant differences...