Fleet Analysis: Southwest Airlines in 2022

Last year marked half a century since Southwest Airlines commenced operations. In the five decades that have followed, the Dallas-based low-cost carrier has amassed a huge but uniform fleet consisting of more than 700 aircraft from the same family.

Southwest Airlines’ present fleet consists of an incredible 737 aircraft, dominated by the 737-700, making it the world’s largest all-narrowbody airline. Of these aircraft, 460 are examples of the Boeing 737-700, making up 62.5% of the fleet. Historically, it has flown another 54 737-700s, according to data from ch-aviation.com.

Southwest’s 737-700s are by far its oldest aircraft, clocking in at an average age of 17.4 years. Data from ch-aviation lists 422 of the 460 examples as currently being active. Meanwhile, the remaining 38 of these twinjets are either in storage or undergoing maintenance.

According to data from SeatGuru, Southwest fits its 737-700s with an all-economy seating configuration that can accommodate 143 passengers. These seats are unassigned for passengers, with those first onboard getting the first pick.

Southwest Airlines also has a higher capacity variant from the 737NG (‘Next Generation’) series at its disposal, namely the popular 737-800. There are presently 207 examples of this design in the carrier’s fleet, of which just four are inactive. Their average age is significantly lower than their smaller 737-700 counterparts, clocking in at just 6.5 years old.

SeatGuru reports that Southwest Airlines’ 737-800s have 175 seats onboard. Interestingly, this is noticeably lower than other low-cost users of the type. For instance, the examples flown by Ryanair, another large-scale 737-800 operator, feature 189 seats. Southwest’s less dense configuration and free checked bags have seen it win favor over its competitors.

The 737 MAX’s growing role in a huge Southwest fleet. While the Boeing 737NG series represents the bulk of Southwest’s present fleet, the new 737 MAX line is also beginning to have an increasing presence at the carrier. There are already 69 examples of the 175-seat 737 MAX 8 in its fleet, all of which are active. These next-generation narrowbodies are three years old on average.

Going forward, the 737 MAX will find itself playing a more even role with the 737 NG series at Southwest, as the latter aircraft begin to age and eventually retire. As of December 2021, Southwest Airlines operates the following aircraft and has 372 jets on order:

Since its inception, Southwest Airlines has almost exclusively operated Boeing 737 aircraft (except for a brief period when it leased and flew some Boeing 727-200 aircraft). Southwest is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 737, and was the launch customer of the 737-300, 737-500, and 737-700.

Southwest has operated 88 examples of the 717-200, after completing the purchase of AirTran Airways. However, Southwest elected not to integrate them into its fleet and currently leases them to Delta Air Lines.. All in all, its historic, current, and future aircraft constitute an enormous all-time fleet of over 1,500 jets.