The 737-700 is the shortest common member of Boeing's 737 Next Generation family, a twin-engine narrowbody seating roughly 126 to 149 passengers. Southwest Airlines flies the largest fleet, so if a stubby 737 is passing over a US city, there is a good chance it is a Southwest -700.
737-700 at a glance
- First flight
- 1997
- Length
- 110 ft 4 in (33.6 m)
- Wingspan
- 117 ft 5 in (35.8 m) with winglets
- Engines
- 2 × CFM56-7B turbofans
- Seats
- 126–149
- Cruise speed
- ~453 kt (521 mph) / Mach 0.785
- Service ceiling
- 41,000 ft
- Range
- ~3,000 nmi
How to recognize the 737-700
The 737-700 looks like a 737-800 that skipped a few rows. Its fuselage is noticeably short relative to its wings, giving it a compact, almost chunky profile when it passes overhead. It shares every family trait of the narrowbody 737, so the main job is judging length.
- Engines: two CFM56-7B engines slung very close to the ground under the wings. Their intakes have a flattened bottom edge (the "hamster pouch"), which is the quickest way to tell any older 737 from an Airbus A320-family jet.
- Exits: just one overwing emergency exit per side. The 737-800 and -900 have two, so a single small hatch above the wing is a strong -700 clue in close-up photos.
- Wingtips: most have tall blended winglets; some Southwest and United jets carry split scimitar winglets with a small downward-pointing tip.
- Landing gear: the main wheels retract into the belly with no doors over the tires, so from directly below you can often see the round black wheels set flush into the fuselage.
- Tail: a tall fin with a long dorsal fillet running forward along the spine.
- Sound and contrail: a typical twin-jet roar; at cruise it leaves two thin contrails that quickly merge into one.
Compared with an A319, the 737-700 sits lower on its gear and has a pointier nose and tail cone.
Where and when you'll see it
Southwest Airlines (callsign SWA) operates the world's biggest 737-700 fleet and was the type's launch customer, so the -700 is common at Southwest-heavy airports such as Dallas Love, Chicago Midway, Baltimore, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. United (UAL) and Alaska (ASA) have also flown the type, and private versions fly as Boeing Business Jets, while the US Navy's C-40 Clipper is a militarized -700 variant.
Typical cruise is FL330 to FL390 on short and medium routes, and you will see it descend through 10,000 ft about 30 to 40 miles from the airport before settling at 2,000 to 3,000 ft on final approach. On ADS-B it appears with a three-letter airline callsign plus flight number, type code B737, and an emitter category of large aircraft. Southwest's quick-turn schedule means the same tail number may cross your area four or five times in a single day.
Easily confused with
- Boeing 737-800: The 737-800 is about 19 ft longer and has two overwing exits per side instead of one.
- Airbus A319: The A319 sits higher off the ground on longer gear and has fully round engine intakes.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8: The MAX 8 has much larger engines with sawtooth chevrons at the back of the nacelle.
Quick facts
- Southwest Airlines launched the 737-700 and took the first delivery in late 1997.
- The Navy's C-40 Clipper and the Boeing Business Jet are both based on the 737-700 airframe.
- The 737's main landing gear has no wheel-well doors; the tires themselves form part of the belly's aerodynamic seal.
737-700 questions
How can I tell a 737-700 from a 737-800 from the ground?
Look at proportions: the -700 looks stubby with the wing set well back toward the middle of a short fuselage. Up close, the -700 has one overwing exit per side, while the -800 has two.
Does Southwest fly anything besides the 737?
No. Southwest flies an all-737 fleet, made up of 737-700s, 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s, which keeps pilot training and maintenance simple.
Cities where it's a regular
Baltimore · St. Louis · San Antonio · San Jose · Virginia Beach
Spot one live
Open the live sky tool and look for B737 in the type column, or browse the live map on airplanes.live.