Boeing 737-900
Narrow-body jet
- Passengers flown a year
- 2.5M
- 43rd-most common US type
- Airframes in US fleets
- 24
- US operators
- 2
- Airports served
- 30
- Countries
- 2
- Load factor
- 82.0%
Where the Boeing 737-900 flies
Filed traffic dataThe operators table below counts the registered Boeing 737-900 airframes each airline owns (US DOT Form 41). These figures are how much the type actually flew — departures, seats, and passengers filed with US DOT T-100 over the trailing 12 months, not fleet size.
Departures flown
17,627
May 2026
Seats flown
3,166,281
Passengers
2.5M
Load factor
82.0%
RPM ÷ ASM
Block hours
43,196
Busiest Boeing 737-900 routes
The Boeing 737-900's busiest US routes over the trailing 12 months, by departures.
2,191 departures · 329,617 passengers · 854 mi
84.0%
Load
1,847 departures · 268,196 passengers · 1,009 mi
81.1%
Load
1,255 departures · 180,019 passengers · 1,222 mi
80.1%
Load
Houston – New Orleans (IAH–MSY)
947 departures · 115,829 passengers · 305 mi
68.3%
Load
915 departures · 136,094 passengers · 1,303 mi
83.1%
Load
744 departures · 106,494 passengers · 787 mi
80.0%
Load
Houston – Philadelphia (IAH–PHL)
578 departures · 82,552 passengers · 1,325 mi
79.8%
Load
561 departures · 82,149 passengers · 1,334 mi
81.8%
Load
Houston – Fort Myers (IAH–RSW)
525 departures · 71,613 passengers · 861 mi
76.2%
Load
Houston – Indianapolis (IAH–IND)
356 departures · 45,614 passengers · 844 mi
71.6%
Load
353 departures · 54,979 passengers · 1,874 mi
87.0%
Load
Orlando – Minneapolis (MCO–MSP)
352 departures · 58,145 passengers · 1,310 mi
87.4%
Load
Reykjavík – Chicago (KEF–ORD)
342 departures · 53,320 passengers · 2,944 mi
87.2%
Load
320 departures · 45,871 passengers · 1,235 mi
80.1%
Load
288 departures · 35,493 passengers · 140 mi
68.8%
Load
The longest and shortest Boeing 737-900 flights
The two ends of the type's working envelope, from the routes it actually flew — not what the airframe is certified to do.
Longest route flown
3,016 mi
Reykjavík – Raleigh/Durham (KEF–RDU)
182 departures · 87% load
Flown by Icelandair. A long leg for a narrow-body twin — far enough from a diversion airport that the type carries an ETOPS rating.
Shortest route flown
140 mi
1h 6m block · 288 departures · 69% load
Flown by United Airlines. Also one of the type's busiest routes anywhere in the US — a short hop worked like a bus line.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment. Data through May 2026.
Airports the Boeing 737-900 serves
The Boeing 737-900 serves 30 US airports across 2 countries. The busiest, by departures:
- IAH
6,586 departures · 24 routes · 1 operator
42.4%
Share
- MCO
1,275 departures · 2 routes · 2 operators
8.2%
Share
- PHX
1,018 departures · 2 routes · 3 operators
6.5%
Share
- LAS
736 departures · 2 routes · 3 operators
4.7%
Share
- KEF
Reykjavík
706 departures · 6 routes · 1 operator
4.5%
Share
- MSP
637 departures · 5 routes · 4 operators
4.1%
Share
- MSY
475 departures · 1 route · 1 operator
3.1%
Share
- SAN
455 departures · 1 route · 2 operators
2.9%
Share
- RSW
370 departures · 2 routes · 2 operators
2.4%
Share
- TPA
369 departures · 1 route · 2 operators
2.4%
Share
Who flies the Boeing 737-900
Two questions in one table. Airframes is what each carrier reported owning in its US DOT fleet filing; seats flown is how much of the type it actually operated. They can rank differently, and the gap is the interesting part.
| Operator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United AirlinesUA | 12 | 2.5M | 79.7% | 24.9 yr |
| Alaska AirlinesAS | 12 | 137.8K | 4.4% | 24.5 yr |
Airframes are the latest Form 41 filing; seats flown and share are US DOT T-100 for the type's most-flown operators — a dash means a carrier isn't among them (a freighter operator, or one that flies fewer).
How old is the US Boeing 737-900 fleet?
Age is measured from each airframe's delivery date — the FAA airworthiness date where available, otherwise the manufacturer's. Bars share a fixed scale across every fleet page, so two carriers can be compared directly.
Monthly Boeing 737-900 capacity
How common is the Boeing 737-900?
The Boeing 737-900 makes up 0.3% of all tracked US airline aircraft — the 43rd-most common type in service.
Share of all tracked US airline aircraft · top 12 types shown · 118 others hold the remaining 37.4% · Boeing 737-900 is the ringed slice at 0.3%
- 1
872 aircraft
10.0%
Share
- 2
708 aircraft
8.1%
Share
- 3
526 aircraft
6.1%
Share
- 4
481 aircraft
5.5%
Share
- 5
470 aircraft
5.4%
Share
- +37 more types
- 43
Boeing 737-900#43 · this type
24 aircraft
0.3%
Share
Frequently asked
How many Boeing 737-900 are in US airline fleets?
US carriers operate about 24 Boeing 737-900 aircraft across 2 airlines, 18 of them in service.
Which airline operates the most Boeing 737-900?
Alaska Airlines operates the largest US Boeing 737-900 fleet, with about 12 aircraft.
What is the busiest Boeing 737-900 route?
The busiest US route flown by the Boeing 737-900 is IAH–MCO, with about 2,191 departures over the trailing 12 months.
Which airline flies the Boeing 737-900 the most?
United Airlines flies the most Boeing 737-900 capacity in US service, with about 2.5M seats flown over the trailing 12 months.
How many passengers does the Boeing 737-900 carry?
The Boeing 737-900 carried about 2.5M passengers on US routes over the trailing 12 months.
What is the longest Boeing 737-900 flight?
The longest US route flown by the Boeing 737-900 is KEF–RDU, about 3,016 miles, flown by Icelandair.
How many airports does the Boeing 737-900 serve?
The Boeing 737-900 serves about 30 US airports across 2 countries, led by Houston (IAH).
How old is the average Boeing 737-900?
The US Boeing 737-900 fleet averages about 24.7 yr.
How common is the Boeing 737-900 in US fleets?
The Boeing 737-900 is the 43rd-most common aircraft type in tracked US airline fleets, by number of aircraft.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from Boeing 737-900 flights to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
The Trip Reporter
TRIP REPORT | Alaska Airlines (Main Cabin) | Los Angeles to Seattle | Boeing 737-900
20:04 · Aug 2023
Noel Philips
KLM Full Flight | Glasgow to Amsterdam | Boeing 737-900 (with ATC)
2:02:29 · Dec 2016
Global Aviation & Travel
REVIEW | United Airlines | Houston (IAH) - Phoenix (PHX) | Boeing 737-900 | Economy Class
21:01 · Oct 2024
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.