How many seats in a Boeing 737?

Answer 1

It depends. Actually, that's a complicated question to answer properly. The short answer is anywhere from 108 to 220 seats!

I'm a commercial pilot and the only way to know how many seats will be on your airplane is to check with the airline itself. Most airlines have maps of seat configurations for their airplanes. You may also find that information on some third-party websites.

Why is it so complicated?

In the case of the Boeing 737, it's got a complicated history. It is an airliner that has been continually in airline service since 1968 and produced in nine different variations identified by a suffix (737-100, -200, -300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -800, -900). While the overall design of the airplane remained the same, there have been significant changes in size and seating capacity from Boeing. Boeing has produced the B-737 in different variations because the differences in seating capacity allows flexibility in demand for seats on a particular route and allows for greater fuel savings. It is inefficient for airlines to fly partially-empty airplanes. How do they do this? Primarily by shortening or lengthening the fuselage (body) of the airplane! See the seating charts below for more information. The airplanes have not always gotten bigger over time as there are demands for various configurations.

In addition, each airline can choose how to configure their airplanes based on how many First Class - Business Class - Coach Class seats they choose, the thickness of the seats they use (all airlines do not necessarily have to use stock Boeing seats), and the seat pitch (distance between rows.) Also, airlines may sometimes elect to change their seating configuration to add or subtract seating. Usually, these changes are made across the entire fleet but sometimes different configurations are used for different routes. For example, an airline might add First Class seating capacity on longer or transcontinental routes due to expectations of premium and business travelers. That reduces the overall seats on that airplane because First Class seats take up more room.

Let's start with the first B-737, the -100 series. Boeing initially designed the airplane for only 50-60 passengers on routes up to 1,000 miles long. Compare that today with a typical range of over 3,000 miles (series 600 or later) and up to 215 passengers!

During discussions with the initial launch airline customer for the 737-100, Lufthansa, Boeing extended the capacity of the 100 series to 100 passengers. However, the 737-100 is no longer in service by any airline.

Likewise, the 737-200, slightly larger than the -100, was phased out of regular passenger service a few years ago.

Today, you might encounter any model -300 or later on major world airlines. For example, even the "older" -300 model was produced as recently as 1999, new by airliner standards.

TYPICAL Seating Capacity (may vary by airline):

*Note: The length of the Boeing 737-100 and -200 were 94' and 100' respectively.

All lengths rounded to the nearest foot.

Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737-400 Boeing 737-500 Airplane Length 110'

120'

102'

(1-class, dense) 149 168 132 (1-class, typical) 140 159 122 (2-class, typical) 128 146 108

Boeing 737-600 Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Airplane Length 103'

110' 130'

(1-class, dense) 130 148 189 (1-class, typical) 123 140 175 (2-class, typical) 108 128 160

Boeing 737-900 Boeing 737-900/ER (Extended Range) Airplane Length 138'

(1-class, dense) 215 (1-class, typical) 204 (2-class, typical) 174

Boeing's next plans for renovating the 737 fleet is the 737-MAX which will be an even more efficient airliner. The 737 MAX is scheduled for first delivery in 2017, 50 years after the 737 first flew. Boeing has firm orders for the 737 MAX totaling 2,099 as of June 2014. They plan to release it in three variants called the 7, 8, and 9. It will give airlines an option to replace comparably-sized Boeing 737's from the above families. Here are the projected seating configurations for those models.

Boeing 737-MAX7 Boeing 737-MAX8 Boeing 737-MAX9 Airplane Length 110' 130'

138'

(1-class, dense) ----- 200 220 (1-class, typical) 140 175 192 (2-class, typical) 126 162 180

*This Answer posted on 8/14/2014 and current as of that date.

*Credits to various Wikipedia articles for the particular seating numbers above.

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Previous best answers:

Mossman8787 said: "It truly depends on which series of the 37 and which operator it is. It can range anywhere from around 116 on the 600 series to around 166 or 172 for the 800 series."

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CvdH said: "In a 1 class configuration 215 seats. In a 2 class configuration 180 seats."