They’d acquired the aircraft in the hopes of using them on short haul and domestic routes, mostly in Japan, but ended up using some on international flights too.ĪNA would not be the last foreign operator of the 737-200, however.

The first foreign customer of the -200 was Japan’s All Nippon Airways. Once those orders had been fulfilled, Boeing delivered the aircraft to many other major airlines.

United Airlines served as the first customer of the -200, ordering them in 1965 and receiving their first aircraft in April 1967. As such, the vast majority of -200s were commercial airlines operating for hundreds of different airlines at different times, including Air Florida, American West and Western Airlines. The -200 was designed as a commercial jet. Commercial Photo courtesy of Aero Icarus via Flickr. This service history includes the present day (as of the time of writing), albeit in a reduced role. The -200 has had an extremely long and detailed service history, acting in just about every role it is physically able to do. By 1965, the 737-100 was joined by the 737-200, its much larger and faster son. This would see certain aspects of the wing be altered, both adding and shaving off weight.īoeing would also add automatic wheel brakes, and redesign the internal fuel tanks to carry more fuel. However, this required the fuel intakes to be completely redesigned, something that would take several months to implement.Īt the same time, Boeing wanted to make the aircraft, that would become the Boeing 737-200, more aerodynamic.

This also required a much longer runway to take off from.īoeing solved this with adding newer, more powerful and fuel efficient engines. However, work was slow, as there were several issues to do with extending the aircraft.įor starters, extending the fuselage caused weight issues, mostly the fact that the added weight slowed down the aircraft immensely. Despite this love, the -100 was slow and had the possibility to seat a lot more if the fuselage was extended by a few feet.īoth the airlines and Boeing was aware of this, and work had been carried out even prior to the -100’s release to fit this. Once the -100 had entered service, many airlines loved it. The -100 was exactly what many of these airlines wanted- a cheaper (to operate) and large(r), short haul aircraft.Īs such, it initially sold quite well. Lufthansa had been the 737-100’s launch customer, with many US airlines following in short succession. This first flew in April 1967, and entered service in February 1968. As such, they began to look at a potential short haul airliner of their own!Įventually, this aircraft would be released as the Boeing 737, with the first variant of the aircraft being called the Boeing 737-100. As their biggest competitor, Boeing didn’t like seeing McDonnell Douglas beat them. As such, it sold very well in the US.Īt the time, McDonnell Douglas’s biggest civil aviation rival was Boeing. This was the first US-produced aircraft that could match, and even beat, the BAC 1-11. In 1965, McDonnell Douglas released the DC-9. With this, other aircraft manufacturers took notice.

Due to this, they had a monopoly on the niche, with all regional and national airlines needing the BAC 1-11. The BAC 1-11 was so successful because it occupied a niche that no other jet of the era did: short haul jet travel. However, all of these (except the BAC 1-11) were long range airliners.īy the mid-1960’s, the BAC 1-11 had become one of the most common airliners in the world, being used by airlines of all sizes, both in Europe and in North America. The first jet aircraft appeared in the 1950’s, starting with the de Havilland Comet, BAC 1-11, DC-8, 707 and Convair 990. Yet, its safety record is abysmal to say the least, and history has not forgotten it… Pre-Boeing 737-200 If you flew on a 737 in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s, you probably flew on a -200, it is arguably the reason why the subsequent variants of the 737 are still flying today! However, it is not the most dangerous 737 variant, the Boeing 737-200 is.įor all intents and purposes, the Boeing 737-200 is an air icon. In recent years, the 737 MAX has made headlines for being among the most dangerous aircraft ever.

737 200 cockpit