When the Boeing 737-300 was introduced in the mid-1980’s, it was the largest development of the 737 family to that point. It would prove to be one of Boeing’s most successful 737 variants, even today!
Today, we often call the 737 an “Air icon”. This is mostly down to the success of the 737-300. If you flew on a 737 from the mid-1980’s until the mid-2000’s, chances are that you flew on the 737-300.
In fact, the 737-300 was so good, that it inspired the 737 Next Generation family, which in itself was instrumental for both Boeing and the 737!
Pre-Boeing 737-300
Over the course of the 1950’s, jet engine technology progressed so much that long-range airliners such as the de Havilland Comet, 707, Convair 880, DC-8 and Convair 990 all entered service.
This immediately made the then-widespread piston and turboprop airliners irrelevant.
By the mid 1960’s, a series of short range jet airlines had been released. Among them was the 737-100, BAC 1-11, as well as the DC-9. These too made short haul piston and turboprop airliners redundant.
Due to this, by the early 1970’s, just about every commercial airline on the planet was operating a mostly jet fleet. A select few airlines were operating all-jet fleets, with most of them being flag carriers.
However, many of these initial jets proved to be quite dangerous, not to mention expensive. As such, airlines began to demand safer and cheaper second generation jet airliners.
Most of these were derivatives of the original, first generation jet airliners, such as the 737-200 and DC-9-20. These airliners proved to be larger and cheaper to operate, however, safety was still a major issue.
Regardless, these second generation jet airliners sold well. Both aircraft manufacturers and airlines wanted to continue with this and get a third generation of short range jet airliners on the market.
Airbus had also released the A320-111, the original A320 variant. This was appealing to a number of European airlines, who could acquire the jet for a much cheaper price (initially).
Development
For Boeing, their needs were threefold. Primarily, they wanted to reduce total operating costs for airlines, whilst also increasing the number of passengers the aircraft could carry all whilst extending its total range.
Development of the 737-300 would begin in 1979, before being publicly announced in 1980.
In order to reduce operating costs, Boeing realized that the 737 had to be more aerodynamic. As such, the Boeing engineers began to evaluate the aerodynamics of the 737, realizing that the wings needed major work.
Boeing engineers pretty much redesigned the entire 737’s wing. The redesign incorporated the wing being lengthened as well as flaps and slats being adjusted to be more aerodynamic.
On top of this, the 737-300 would also receive newer, more fuel efficient and faster CFM56 engines. However, in order to keep the -300 aerodynamic, the wing had to be redesigned to have the engines ahead of the wing, rather than below.
In order to accommodate more passengers, Boeing also stretched the 737’s fuselage by several feet. This allowed for several more rows of passengers to be added in the interim.
Boeing would also elect to completely redo both the cabin and the cockpit. This would similarly see several more rows of passengers be added, fulfilling Boeing’s initial requirements.
The Boeing 737-300 would first fly on February 24 1984, before receiving its type certificate on November 14 1984. Deliveries of the first 737s to USAir would commence in the following days.
Service History
Since the 737-300’s introduction on November 28 1984, it has had an incredibly long and detailed service history, with the jet performing almost every role imaginable! This history even includes today, albeit in a reduced role…
Commercial
The first -300s were delivered to USAir. The 737-300 was subsequently delivered to a number of major US and world airlines before the dawn of the 1990’s. The introduction of the -300 would see airlines begin to phase out the 737-100.
Most 737-300s would be used on the airlines most popular short haul routes. These are routes such as New York to Atlanta, New York to Chicago and/or London to Madrid.
In particular, a number of original low cost airlines, such as Southwest and Morris Air, were attracted to the Boeing 737-300. This would inspire other airlines like Hooters Air to operate the type too.
By the early 2000’s, the -300 had been almost completely retired from service by the world’s major airlines. Many of these jets were stored or scrapped, with many being sold to smaller airlines due to the Great Recession.
Despite this, the -300 is still a favorite among many western low cost carriers, who can acquire these old jets for only a couple of million dollars, compared to the $106.1 million for a brand new 737-800.
Many of the -300s that were sold in 2008/2009 are still in service today. Many of these are in service with airlines in developing countries, with the -300 often being their primary short-haul jet airliner.
Cargo
Alongside becoming a favorite of smaller airlines, the 737-300 also became a favorite of a number of cargo airlines. When the -300 was sold or stored, a number of specialty cargo airlines purchased entire fleets of the jet!
Often, these cargo airlines bought the -300s whilst they were still configured as commercial airliners. Here, their interiors would be ripped out, and configured for cargo operations.
Most commonly, these 737-300s are used by midsized cargo airlines, to transport small amounts of cargo over a relatively short distance. With that being said, a few larger cargo airlines did previously operate the -300.
The -300’s relatively small size allows them to go to pretty much every airport on the planet. This could be one of the largest airports on the planet, or one of the smallest that you’ve never heard of!
A number of the cargo airlines who operate the Boeing 737-300 also offer the jet for charter. Typically, these -300s are chartered to carry relatively small amounts of sensitive or high-value cargo.
This means that, if you so desired (and had the money!), you could charter a 737-300 to transport relatively small amounts of sensitive and/or high-value cargo. Or just for some (rather expensive!) fun!
Combi
For many of these cargo 737-300s, they are also what are known as combi aircraft. These are aircraft that are configured both for cargo and passenger operations at the same time.
Usually, freight is loaded into the front of the -300, whilst passengers are loaded into the back. This is done for weight distribution, rather than anything else.
Most of the time, these cargo 737-300s act solely as cargo aircraft. However, if they are chartered out for a small number of passengers, they will act as combis, in order to reduce costs.
The same is also true if the airline itself needs to transport its executives to and from major cities. This way, the executives can work on the flight, whilst the flight also makes money to cover its operational costs!
Although these airlines are now defunct, a few airlines have operated regularly scheduled combi flights. This is rather similar to the first airlines of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
However, many of these airlines have ceased offering such flights due to low passenger satisfaction (and lower profits). The Boeing 737-300s have instead returned to duty as either a cargo or passenger airliner.
Those airlines that haven’t listened have instead gone under.
VIP
By the late 1980’s, business jets had become an integral tool for just about every multinational corporation. However, for some, the large, long-range business jets like the Falcon 50, Gulfstream III and Challenger 600, were simply not enough.
Instead, they wanted a much larger business jet. They didn’t want a longer jet, or one with a longer jet, like the Falcon 900, Gulfstream IV or the Challenger 604. They wanted something more like the 727, 737 or the A320.
Understanding this, Boeing began to market what it called the 77-33 jet. Despite the initial optimism, Boeing only sold a few 77-33 jets, mostly because the price for such an aircraft was incredibly high.
These would enter service in the early 1990’s, a few of which are still flown today. However, the business idea was good, and once Boeing released the Next Generation line of 737s, officially started offering the BBJ line of bizliners.
In recent years, a number of 737-300s have been retired by airlines around the world. Many of these -300s have seen a second life, as charter bizjets. Naturally, these 737-300 bizjets are some of the most expensive bizjets in the world.
Whilst many of these have been left in an airline-style configuration, just as many have been reconfigured into an executive configuration, akin to the modern BBJs. These latter reconfigurations have been done by companies like Versace, Gucci etc.
Specifications
Due to the -300 being developed from the 737-100 and -200, the 737-300 has a lot in common with both variants. The -300 would also serve as the basis for the 737-700, which it would also have a lot in common with.
When it was introduced, the -300’s specs were among the most competitive of its time, often matching or beating the competition’s specs. At the same time, the -300 had slightly lower net operating operating costs.
| Specifications | Boeing 737-300 |
|---|---|
| Height | 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m) |
| Wingspan | 94 ft 9 in (28.88 m) |
| Length | 109 ft 7 in (33.4 m) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 126 – 140 |
| Cruise Speed | Mach 0.745 (796 km/h; 572 mph; 430 kn) |
| Range | 3,815 km (2,371 mi; 2,060 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 37,000 ft (11,300 m) |
| MTOW | 133,500 lb (60,500 kg) |
How Safe Was The Boeing 737-300?
In recent years, the 737 has gotten a reputation for being one of the most dangerous aircraft you could fly on. This is mostly thanks to the recent 737 MAX debacle, which saw the type grounded for a total of 21 months.
It probably also doesn’t help that the 737-200 was famous for being extremely dangerous. In a period of less than a decade, the 737-200 had the vast majority of its 68 crashes, and 2910 fatalities.
Despite this, since the 737-300’s introduction in 1984, it has proven to be one of the safest aircraft in the world. Whilst it doesn’t have a perfect safety record, no jet that age does, it’s still quite impressive!
In total, Boeing produced 1,113 737-300s. Of these 1,113 Boeing 737-300s produced, only 17 ever crashed, with only 12 of these crashes resulting in the aircraft being written off.
These 17 crashes have resulted in a total of 727 fatalities. This is one of the lowest fatality counts of any passenger airline in history, and is especially impressive for an airliner of its age.
Boeing learned a lot in terms of safety from the 737-200. Using what it learned, Boeing made a number of alterations to the 737-300 during its development. This is arguably why it was so safe!
Why Was The Boeing 737-300 so Successful?
All in all, Boeing sold 1,113 copies of the Boeing 737-300. At the time, this made the -300 the most successful member of the entire 737 family, having surpassed the 737-200 at 991 copies.
The 737-300 would hold this record until the early 2000’s, when the 737-700 was introduced. In total, Boeing sold 1,128 copies of the 737-700, surpassing the -300 by only 15 copies.
The 737-300 was successful for a number of different reasons.
Primarily, this was down to specs. The 737-300 was the contemporary of the A320-111, the original A320 variant. The -300 is larger than the A320-111, at the same time, it is also lighter, whilst having more powerful engines.
This gave the -300 better economics per seat. In turn, this made it more appealing to airlines, who could get higher profits from operating the -300, compared to the A320-111.
Compared to other 737s, the -300’s specs were also superior too! Compared to the 737-100 and -200, the longer fuselage and newer engines made the -300 the perfect replacement.
Compared to the -400 and -500, the -300 had better economics per seat, which once again made it a favorite among airlines.
On top of this, the -300 quickly got a reputation for being extremely safe, especially compared to the extremely unsafe 737-200!
Legacy
Despite most major airlines having not operated the Boeing 737-300 for well over a decade, the legacy of the 737-300 is still visible today!
Boeing
When Boeing released the 737-300, they listed them at about $10 million per aircraft. However, if you bought the -300 in large enough quantities, Boeing would provide you with a substantial discount.
In 1984, $10 million was a lot of money, roughly akin to $25 million in today’s money (as of the time of writing anyway). This gave Boeing a lot of money to use on its upcoming projects.
Boeing would use the money it generated from the 737-300 to fund the development of newer variants of both the 757 and 767. These aircraft would be released over the course of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
On top of this, Boeing would also use the information it discovered to influence their designs. For instance, the cabin makeover the -300 got would later inspire subsequent 757 variants.
Boeing 737
Prior to the introduction of the Boeing 737-300, the 737 had a rather mixed reputation.
To many, it was an engineering marvel, being among one of the most sophisticated airliners of its day. To others, however, the 737 was a dangerous aircraft that had more than its fair share of “accidents”.
Once Boeing introduced the 737-300, however, the naysayers were silenced, as the -300 truly was an engineering marvel, but also one with an impeccable safety record.
In fact, most aviation historians view the Boeing 737-300 as the reason why we call the 737 an “Air icon“.
The -300 was so successful and had relatively few faults, that nobody could really argue with this statement. The success of subsequent 737s has further reinforced that the 737 is indeed, an “Air icon”.
Future Aircraft
The 737-300 was the first member of the 737 Classic family. The 737-300 would be developed in tandem with the 737-400 and 737-500. By the mid-1990’s, the Next Generation had become old.
With this, airlines began demanding newer 737 variants that could outperform the 737 Classic family. Boeing obliged and begun work on a new family of 737 variants.
This family would eventually be known as the 737 Next Generation, initially including the 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900. The 737-600 would appear a year later, with an order from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS Airlines).
Boeing would use the 737-300’s design as a template for both the 737-600 and 737-700. Much of the -300’s design would be almost identical to the -700’s design, although Boeing would alter the -300 to be more modern.
Did you ever fly on the Boeing 737-300? What was it like? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Bartlomiej Mostek via Flickr.