American Airlines has 265 737-800 NGs in service, while Southwest Airlines has 205, United Airlines has 136 and Delta Air Lines has 77, according to Cirium. Boeing delivered nearly 5,000 of the planes to customers between 1998 and 2020, according to Boeing data.
The 737-800 is the best-selling variant of the 737NG and is the most widely used narrow-body aircraft. Ryanair, an Irish low-cost airline, is among the largest operators of the Boeing 737-800, with a fleet of over 400 of the -800 variant serving routes across Europe, Middle East, and North Africa.
The 737-800 has a maximum fuel capacity of 6,875 gallons, which it carries in fuel tanks in its wings, as seen here, and in a fuel tank located underneath the passenger cabin's midsection. Fully loaded, the jet can fly up to 3,159 miles without refueling.
The Venezolana Boeing 737 is one of the oldest planes still flying in commercial service. It was first used in 1978, making it over four decades old. Despite its age, this aircraft continues to operate under the banner of Venezolana, an airline based in Venezuela.
While the average passenger might not notice many major differences between the two, the MAX is a major improvement over the 737-800 especially in terms of overall efficiency and range, and passengers can expect to continue seeing more MAX aircraft over the coming years as Boeing continues to fill its backlog of orders ...
They also differ in the sense that the 737-800 is the third-largest 737NG airframe, while the MAX 8 ranks second among the MAX series. Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.
The Best Seats for the Most LegroomThere is a window seat behind the exit row that doesn't have any seat in front of it, giving you a ridiculous amount of legroom. It'll be seat 12A on the Boeing 737-700, seats 16A and 16F on the Boeing 737-800, and seats 16A and 16F on the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
The Boeing 737-800—the type of aircraft involved in Monday's loss of a China Eastern Airlines jet in southern China—has a global reputation as an airline workhorse and comes with a good safety record.
Comparing the 737 MAX 8 directly to the 737-800 on numbers alone, it quickly becomes evident that the newer MAX series has a longer range and the ability to carry an extra 18 fare-paying customers in a two-class setup. The MAX 200's high-density layout also allows it to hold more passengers than one-class 737-800s.