Southwest Airlines fleet
, Southwest Airlines operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet with 810 aircraft, making it the fifth largest commercial airline fleet in the world and the largest 737 operator. Additionally, as of November 2025, Southwest has over 500 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order. Southwest has only ever operated Boeing 737 aircraft, except for a brief period during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they operated 6 Boeing 727-200 aircraft. The airline served as the launch customer of the 737-300, 737-500, and 737-700. The use of a single aircraft type across its fleet allows Southwest's pilots and flight attendants to operate any aircraft without restrictions and reduces training time and costs. Southwest Airlines aims to be all MAX-operators of the 737 by 2031.
Current fleet
, Southwest Airlines operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet composed of the following aircraft:History
Beginnings
Southwest Airlines began revenue flights on June 18, 1971 using three Boeing 737-200 aircraft. The airline operated the type exclusively during the airline's early history. These aircraft were not originally ordered by Southwest, but rather were delivery slots taken over from Air California, Aloha Airlines, and Pacific Southwest Airlines. After obtaining six aircraft in this manner, Southwest made its first all-new 737 order from Boeing for four aircraft in June 1976. These were also the airline's first 737-200 Advanced series aircraft, with aerodynamic enhancements and greater range than the original 737-200.In early 2004, Southwest restored and donated the nose section of a retired 737-200, aircraft registration number N102SW, to the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. The aircraft had flown for Southwest from March 15, 1984 to January 23, 2004. Southwest retired its last active 737-200 from revenue service on January 17, 2005, however, one 737-200 was retained at Love Field until 2009 as a ground crew training aid.
737 Classic
Southwest was the first airline to operate the Boeing 737-300, which Boeing designed specifically to meet the needs of the airline, as the 737-200 proved to have inadequate range and load-carrying capacity to fly new Southwest routes between Texas and the western United States. The new aircraft had a longer range and seated more passengers than the 737-200, 137 versus 122, and was substantially quieter inside, particularly behind the wing. Most of the 737-300 fleet was later retrofitted with slimmer-profile seats, increasing passenger capacity to 143. Additional 737-300s were obtained from Morris Air when its operations were absorbed by Southwest in 1994. At one time, Southwest operated the largest 737-300 fleet in the world, with 195 aircraft. The first 737-300 to enter service, registration N300SW and manufacturer's serial number 22940, named "The Spirit of Kitty Hawk", first flew with Southwest on December 17, 1984. N300SW was retired by Southwest in April 2011 after 83,132 flight hours and 77,301 cycles. It has been restored and preserved at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, where it houses a historical exhibit. The last Southwest 737-300 revenue flight took place on September 29, 2017.Southwest was the launch customer for the Boeing 737-500, a smaller, more efficient version of the 737-300. Introduced in 1990, the airliner seated 122 passengers — the same as the older 737-200 — but had increased fuel capacity and range. The 737-500 was purchased for newly-introduced, long-range routes with lower demand than the airline's established short-haul routes. However, as these routes grew in popularity, the lower seating capacity became a liability, and the 737-500 was shifted mostly to Southwest's original short-haul routes in Texas and its neighboring states. The airline retired its last 737-500 on September 5, 2016.
737 Next Generation
The airline again became a 737 launch customer when it ordered the first Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft in November 1993; Southwest took delivery of the first Boeing 737-700 on December 17, 1997. Southwest added the Boeing 737-800 to its fleet on April 11, 2012. The aircraft has 175 seats, 32 more than the former largest 737s in Southwest's fleet.After completing the purchase of AirTran Airways, Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran's existing fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft. However, Southwest elected not to integrate them into its fleet and currently leases them to Delta Air Lines.
On October 1, 2018, Southwest Airlines took delivery of its final Boeing 737-800. All deliveries for the foreseeable future were expected to be Boeing 737 MAX variants. The airline expects to retire the entire 737 Next Generation fleet by 2031.
737 MAX
On December 13, 2011, Southwest placed a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, becoming the launch customer for the type.On May 15, 2013, Southwest became the launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX 7. The first delivery was expected in 2019, but was delayed due to the grounding of the 737 MAX.
On August 29, 2017, Southwest Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8, the first airline in North America to do so. The airline was also the first in North America to operate the aircraft on a scheduled revenue passenger flight on October 1, 2017. By April 2018, Southwest was the largest 737 MAX customer with 280 total orders for the MAX 8 variant, and 310 aircraft total for the 737 MAX family.
On March 13, 2018, Southwest Airlines took delivery of the 10,000th Boeing 737, setting the Guinness World Record for Boeing which started producing the 737 in January 1967. This beat the previous record of 5,000 set back in 2006. This will be flown under tail number N8717M. There is a special registration plate commemorating the milestone inside the L1 door.
In March 2020, in response to the sharp drop in air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Southwest indefinitely stored 50 737-700 aircraft at Southern California Logistics Airport. By April 28, Southwest had indefinitely grounded 350 of its 742 aircraft and delayed many 737 MAX deliveries, a move supported by Boeing because 737 MAX production was shut down due to the continued MAX groundings.
In November 2020, the FAA formally ended the 737 MAX grounding, and Southwest began the process of returning its 34 737 MAX aircraft to service and retraining all of its pilots. On March 11, 2021, Southwest resumed 737 MAX operation, becoming the fourth US airline to do so.
In October 2020, Southwest stated that it was considering alternatives to the MAX 7 to replace its 737-700s, with deliveries from 2025. However, in March 2021, Southwest announced an order for 100 MAX 7 jets with deliveries from 2022 and said that negotiations with Airbus were never initiated. By June 2021, Southwest converted several MAX 7 options into additional firm orders, anticipating that only MAX 7 aircraft would be delivered during 2022 through 2026. However, in July 2022, Southwest stated that MAX 7 type certification delays would likely postpone the first delivery until 2023 and that the airline would instead receive MAX 8 aircraft in the interim. Unfortunately, further delays of MAX 7 certification made Southwest assume no deliveries until 2026.
Livery/paint
Southwest's original primary livery was "Desert Gold". The word Southwest appeared in white on the gold portion of the tail. On the original three 737-200s, from June 1971, on the left side of the aircraft, the word Southwest was placed along the upper rear portion of the fuselage, with the word Airlines painted on the tail N21SW. On the right side, the word Southwest was on the tail, but also had the word Airlines painted on the upper rear portion of the fuselage N20SW. This was later revised to simply include "Southwest" on both sides of the tail. The airline's Boeing 727-200s, operated briefly in the late 1970s and early 1980s, featured other variations on the livery; one was painted in a shade of ochre instead of gold with stylized titles on the forward fuselage and an "S" logo on the tail, while others bore the standard livery with the word "Southwest" moved from the tail to the forward fuselage.Southwest introduced the Canyon Blue livery on January 16, 2001, the first primary livery change in Southwest's then-30-year history. Spirit One was the first aircraft painted in the Canyon Blue fleet color scheme. That aircraft was N793SA, a Boeing 737-700. The second livery replaces the former primary color, "Desert Gold", with "Canyon Blue", and changes the Southwest text and pinstripes to gold. The orange and red stripes continued to be used. The pinstripe along the aircraft was drawn in a more curved pattern instead of the straight horizontal line separating the colors in the original. For aircraft equipped with blended winglets, the blended winglets were painted to include the text Southwest.com. Southwest completed repainting its entire fleet with the new "Canyon Blue" livery in early 2010; however, Classic Retro, The Herbert D. Kelleher, and Metallic Gold One, which are Boeing 737-700 aircraft, retained a simplified version of the original "Desert Gold" livery. One Boeing 737-200, registered N96SW, was painted into the Canyon Blue livery for unknown reasons.
A new livery, named "Heart" and developed with firms GSD&M, Lippincott, VML, Razorfish, and Camelot Communications, was unveiled on September 8, 2014. The new livery uses a darker shade of blue. The orange stripe on the tail is changed to yellow, and both the red and yellow stripes are now enlarged in reverse pattern. The belly of the aircraft is now in blue, and it features a heart, which has been a symbol for Southwest during its 43-year history. Additionally, the pinstripes are changed to a silver-gray. The Southwest text, now white, has been moved to the front of the fuselage. The lettering is in a custom font designed by Monotype, Southwest Sans. The web address was moved from the winglets to the engines. The dot in Southwest.com is now the new Heart logo featured on the belly of the aircraft. 99 percent of the fleet excluding special liveries are in the Heart Livery.