Summary Southwest Airlines operates the fourth-largest fleet in the world, consisting solely of Boeing 737 models. The oldest Southwest aircraft is over 24 years old, with one having over 47,000 flight cycles. The Boeing 737-700 fleet is the largest for Southwest, with 376 active aircraft and a high retirement rate anticipated.
Southwest Airlines is the fourth-largest airline in the world by fleet size. Moreover, it achieves this with an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Today, it has a fleet of 821 Boeing 737-700, 737-800, and 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with an overall average age of 8.
3 years old. This (and all fleet data in this article) is based on data from ch-aviation . The oldest aircraft, however, is just over 24 years old, and the most utilized records over 47,000 flight cycles.
Recent retirements seem to support this as a maximum for now. The Southwest Airlines fleet Southwest Airlines has always operated an all-Boeing fleet. And for the most part, it has always been an all Boeing 737 fleet.
There was a brief period in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the airline leased variants of the Boeing 727. It has grown rapidly to become the fourth largest airline in the world. The Texan outfit has evolved well over the years.
The airline has operated all generations of the Boeing 737 . It started service with the Boeing 737-200 in 1971, operating 36 of the variant and retiring the last in 2005. it has been the launch customer for the 737-300, -500, and 700, and a major operator of the 737 MAX.
Today, it has a fleet of 821 aircraft. As of September 2024, 786 of these aircraft are active and 35 are listed as inactive or parked. There are a further 191 737 MAX 8 aircraft and 386 737 MAX 7 aircraft on order.
The fleet is made up of: Aircraft Type In Service On order Boeing 737-700 376 - Boeing 737-800 205 - Boeing 737 MAX 8 240 191 Boeing 737 MAX 7 - 286 The airline's most recent delivery brings the total fleet to over 800 aircraft. Get all the latest aviation news for North America here The oldest aircraft is N560WN - just over 24 years old Across the whole fleet, the average aircraft age is 8.3 years.
The oldest aircraft, of course, is one of the Boeing 737-700 fleet, with registration N560WN. This aircraft is 24.46 years old.
Aircraft Type Average Age Oldest aircraft Boeing 737-700 18.9 years 24.46 years (N560WN) Boeing 737-800 9.
1 years 12.54 years (N8301J) Boeing 737 MAX 8 2.8 years 8.
61 years (N8701Q) Looking in more detail at this oldest aircraft - N560WN. It was ordered new by Alaska Airlines in December 1999 and operated with the airline from May 2000 to May 2014. It has flown with Southwest Airlines since May 2014.
It will not, however, make it to 25 years old. According to ch-aviation, it has a confirmed retirement date of the end of September 2024. The most flight cycles - N785SW with 47,038 Interestingly, N560WN is the oldest aircraft, but has not seen the most flight cycles.
For clarity, a flight cycle for commercial aircraft refers to one flight, or pressurization and depressurization of the cabin. N560WN claims 38,007 flight cycles (this data from ch-aviation is current up to the end of May 2024). This is quite far behind the most utilized aircraft.
N785SW is slightly younger (but not much, at 23.91 years old) and has seen 47,381 flight cycles. N785SW was delivered new to Southwest Airlines in November 2000 - only ever operating with the one airline.
N785SW also records the highest number of flight hours - at 79,677. Only four aircraft in the fleet have recorded over 77,000 hours. Overall, 11 aircraft have recorded over 44,000 flight cycles, but only four over 46,000.
The Boeing 737-700 fleet Southwest Airlines has been the largest operator of the Boeing 737-700 . It has a current fleet of 376 aircraft, but has already retired 138 aircraft. For reference and completeness, here are the ten oldest aircraft in the fleet currently - with the total number of cycles and flights hours for each: Aircraft Age Total flight cycles Total flight hours N560WN 24.
46 years 38,007 76,423 N785SW 23.91 years 47,381 79,677 N786SW 23.9 years 45,227 76,308 N788SA 23.
86 years 45,351 76,181 N791SW 23.76 years 44,501 75,061 N792SW 23.75 years 47,261 79,327 N7882B 23.
74 years 34,659 53,811 N7993SA 23.73 years 44,606 75,046 N400WN 23.48 years 44,722 75,246 N401WN 23.
48 years 46,474 78,296 These major carriers have some seriously well-used aircraft in their fleets! Of the 376 aircraft retired, this includes 11 aircraft retired so far in 2024. These aircraft show a similar age and retirement profile. Most of them also entered service in mid or late 2000, likewise being retired with around 24 years of service.
These retirements will no doubt pick up once the Boeing 737 MAX 7 starts to enter the fleet. Southwest is by far the largest customer for the MAX 7. With repeated delays, it is unlikely to receive any aircraft before late 2025 or 2026 at best.
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