Southwest Airlines fleet
The Southwest Airlines fleet is an all-Boeing 737 operation used across the airline's predominantly domestic United States network. At 30 June 2026, Southwest reported 803 aircraft: 288 Boeing 737-700s, 192 Boeing 737-800s and 323 Boeing 737-8s. Of these, 708 were owned and 95 were leased.[1]
Scope and counting method
Southwest's quarterly filing supplies a complete, dated census by variant, ownership status, seating and average age. The figures in this article therefore describe the operating fleet at 30 June 2026, rather than combining live registration lists, parked aircraft and orders into an undated total. Aircraft on order are excluded until delivery and entry into the operating fleet.[1]
Southwest describes the single-type strategy as a means of simplifying scheduling, maintenance, flight operations, safety management and training. Although all current aircraft belong to the Boeing 737 family, they span two generations and use different engines: the 737-700 and 737-800 are Next Generation aircraft powered by CFM International CFM56-7B engines, while the 737-8 is a MAX-family aircraft powered by the CFM International LEAP-1B.[2][3][4]
Current fleet
| Aircraft type | Seats | Average age (years) | Total | Owned | Leased | Engines |
| Boeing 737-700 | 137 | 20 | 288 | 271 | 17 | CFM International CFM56-7B |
| Boeing 737-800 | 175 | 11 | 192 | 143 | 49 | CFM International CFM56-7B |
| Boeing 737-8 | 175 | 3 | 323 | 294 | 29 | CFM International LEAP-1B |
| Total | 11 | 803 | 708 | 95 |
Seat counts are Southwest's standard fleet figures at the reporting date. They should not be treated as aircraft-specific evidence where an airframe is undergoing cabin work or has not yet returned to service after modification.[1]
Boeing 737-700
The 737-700 remains the largest older subfleet by number, but also the oldest, averaging 20 years at the June 2026 snapshot. Its 288 aircraft represented just under 36 per cent of the operating fleet. The variant's smaller 137-seat layout distinguishes it from the 175-seat 737-800 and 737-8.[1]
Southwest is progressively using MAX deliveries to renew the 737-700 population. In the second quarter of 2026 it retired five 737-700s and sold a sixth. A retirement or sale reported at fleet level does not establish the disposition of any particular registration without an aircraft-specific record.[1]
Boeing 737-800
Southwest's 192 737-800s formed the smallest current subfleet and had an average age of 11 years. The airline owned 143 and leased 49, making the variant proportionally more lease-dependent than either the 737-700 or 737-8. Four 737-800s were sold during the second quarter of 2026.[1]
The 737-800 and 737-8 both carried 175 seats at the snapshot, but they are not interchangeable variants: the former belongs to the 737 Next Generation series and the latter to the 737 MAX family, with different engines and airframe systems.[1][3][4]
Boeing 737-8
The 737-8 was Southwest's largest individual subfleet by June 2026, with 323 aircraft and an average age of three years. Southwest received 13 during the second quarter, bringing 2026 deliveries to 23 by 30 June and 25 by 23 July. Continued 737-8 deliveries are the principal source of near-term fleet modernisation while the first 737-7s are prepared.[1]
Southwest was the first customer to finalise a 737 MAX order in December 2011. The airline later described itself as launch customer for the 737-8 and the planned 737-7, continuing a relationship in which it had also launched the 737-300, 737-500 and 737-700 series.[5][6]
Orders and 737-7 introduction
At 23 July 2026, Southwest reported 479 firm MAX order positions through 2031: 264 737-7s and 215 737-8s. The total included 25 737-8s already received during 2026, leaving 454 of those positions undelivered at that date. A further 138 options could be assigned to either variant. Contractual positions are not the same as forecast deliveries: manufacturer capacity, customer conversions and regulatory timing can change the delivery profile.[1]
| Order category at 23 July 2026 | 737-7 | 737-8 | Total |
| Firm order positions for 2026–2031 | 264 | 215 | 479 |
| Received during 2026 by 23 July | — | 25 | 25 |
| Remaining firm positions | 264 | 190 | 454 |
| Options, assignable to either model | 138 |
The 737-7 was not in Southwest's June operating fleet. The FAA certified the variant on 3 August 2026, after the quarterly report had been filed. Boeing and Southwest then said they were preparing the first aircraft for delivery; no first delivery or entry into Southwest revenue service is assumed here without a later operator or regulatory record.[7]
This distinction matters for structured fleet data. The 737-7 is a future fleet type until a delivered aircraft is supported by a dated source, even though it is certified and Southwest holds a large firm order.
Fleet development
Southwest has built its operating model around the 737 for decades. The common type family reduces the number of pilot and maintenance training streams and allows aircraft to be substituted more readily than in a mixed-manufacturer fleet. Commonality is not absolute: the current fleet includes two generations, two engine families and three cabin-capacity groups.[2][3][4]
The remaining Next Generation aircraft provide most of the fleet's maturity and ownership base, while the 737-8 supplies the youngest subfleet. In the second quarter of 2026, 13 deliveries and ten retirements or sales produced a net increase of three aircraft during the quarter. The total nevertheless ended at 803 because fleet movements earlier in the year offset that quarterly change.[1]
The order book is designed both for replacement and for flexibility. Southwest has repeatedly converted 737-7 and 737-8 positions as certification and production circumstances changed. During the first half of 2026 it converted 19 planned 737-7 deliveries into firm 737-8 orders; during the second quarter it also exercised six 737-7 options for 2027.[1]
Cabins and onboard equipment
Southwest introduced assigned seating and extra-legroom seating on 27 January 2026. The June filing records 137 seats on the 737-700—six fewer than its previous arrangement—and 175 seats on both larger variants. Cabin modification status is aircraft-specific and should not be inferred solely from fleet type.[1]
The airline also began a broader onboard-equipment programme involving redesigned Recaro seats, in-seat power, larger overhead bins and upgraded connectivity. Its first Starlink-equipped aircraft entered service on 22 June 2026, and 107 aircraft with Recaro seats had entered service by 22 July. These are equipment and cabin states, not new aircraft variants, and their totals must not be added to the fleet census.[1]
Registrations and aircraft-level records
Southwest aircraft carry United States N registrations. Registration-level records should connect each aircraft to its variant, manufacturer serial number, engine type, delivery and operating dates, ownership or lessor, cabin configuration and dated status where reliable sources support those fields.
The fleet filing does not identify which registrations made up the 803-aircraft census. It would therefore be unsafe to infer that a particular airframe was active, stored, sold or retired from the aggregate totals alone. Special liveries likewise describe an individual aircraft's paint scheme, not a separate fleet variant.
Related pages
Sources
Southwest Airlines Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 — United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Southwest Airlines 2025 Form 10-K — United States Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. FAA certifies new Boeing 737-7 airplane — Boeing, 3 August 2026
Boeing chronology: 2011 — Boeing
Southwest Airlines adds 100 firm orders for the Boeing 737 MAX 7 — Southwest Airlines, 29 March 2021
Boeing 737 Next Generation technical specifications — Boeing
Image source and licence: Southwest Boeing 737-8 N1776R — Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
