8/03/2000: Boeing 737-900 Takes to the Skies
The Boeing 737-900 was designed to compete with the Airbus A321.
The Boeing 737-900 was designed to compete with the Airbus A321.
DALLAS - Today in Aviation, The largest of the Next-Generation Boeing 737 family, the -900 series, operated its maiden flight in 2000.
The maiden sortie, which lasted around three hours, saw the jet head over Lake Washington. It marked the start of a six-month test program.
Boeing announced the type, then dubbed the -900X, at the Paris Air Show in June 1997 to compete with the Airbus A321. It featured a 2.4m (7ft 10in) extension to its fuselage, taking its overall length to 42.1m (138ft 3in). Boeing officially launched the type on September 10, 1997 following an order for ten from Alaska Airlines (AS) with options on a further ten. It entered service with the carrier on May 15, 2001.
However, despite the larger fuselage, Boeing chose to keep the same emergency exits as on the smaller -800 series. This meant that passenger capacity was limited to that of the -800, 189 seats. Its standard configuration is for 177 passengers in a two-class layout.
Sales were slow, with airlines ordering just 52 examples. Boeing went on to launch the extended range -900ER in July 2005. Thanks to an extra set of emergency doors aft of the wing, seating capacity increased to 215 passengers, with a range of 5,900km (3,200nm). Lion Air (JT) became the launch customer when it received its maiden example in April 2007.
In September 2003, Boeing revealed it was looking at creating a freighter variant. The -900F would have used a side cargo door, similar to that on the -700QC or ‘Quick Change.’ It would have been capable of carrying eleven standard-size pallets. However, cargo carriers had little interest, and the manufacturer dropped the idea.
Featured Image: Alaska Airlines became the launch customer of the 737-900 when it received its first example in 2001. Photo: Alaska Airlines.
.webp)
David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.
Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!
