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Boeing 737-900ER

Type
Short- to medium-range airliner (Verkehrsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
USA

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group
PO Box 3707
Seattle, WA 98124

Phone: 001-206/237-2121
Fax: 001-206/237-1706
Internet: www.boeing.com

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2
Passengers (Passagiere): Up to 220 in a single-class layout, but 215 would be typical. In a typical two-class arrangement the 737-900ER seats 180 passengers
Cargo (Fracht): 51,7 cu m, or 47,3 cu m with one auxiliary tank, or 44,9 cu m with two auxiliary tanks

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x CFM International CFM56-7B
Thrust (Schub): 2 x 121,3 kN (27300 lbs) or 115 kN

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 42,11 m
Height (Höhe): 12,57 m
Span (Spannweite): 34,29 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 125 sq m

Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 3,53 m
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 2,13 m

Weights (Massen)
Max. fuel (max. Kraftstoff): 29665 litres with two auxiliary tanks
Max. zero-fuel weight (max. Masse ohne Kraftstoff): 67722 kg
Max. take-off weight (max. Startmasse): 85140 kg
Max. landing weight (max. Landemasse): 71350 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. speed (max. Fluggeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.82
Normal cruise speed (Reisegeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.787 / 938 km/h
Cruise altitude (Reiseflughöhe): up to 12495 m (41000 ft)
Maximum range (max. Reichweite):
5000 km with 180 passengers
5925 km with two auxiliary tanks and 180 passengers

Price (Kosten)
List price for the 737-900ER was 70 to 80.5 million US-Dollars in 2006. This was up from 66,5 to 68,5 million US-Dollars in 2005.

Customers (Kunden)
By the time of the first delivery in April 2007, eight customers had placed orders for 104 737-900Ers. At the time of the first flight in September 2006, Boeing had won orders for 80 737-900Ers. At the time of programme launch in July 2005, Boeing had just one customer for the 737-900ER, i.e. Lion Air.
Among the customers are:
Azerbaijan Airlines: 2. Ordered on 22. February 2007 in connection with a deal for Boeing 787s.
Continental Airlines: 24. Announced on 3 August 2006. Continental converted orders for 12 Next-Generation 737s to the new 737-900ER model. Boeing will deliver Continental's first 737-900ER in 2008. A further 12 existing orders for 737s were confirmed as 737-900Ers on 5 December 2006.
GECAS: 4. The company announced a deal for 30 plus 30 options (737-800s and 737-900ERs) on 29 March 2006. At the roll-out ceremony in August 2006 it was said that Futura International Airways and Excel Airways will begin operating 737-900ERs on lease from GECAS in 2008. As of April 2007, the Boeing listing contained four 737-900ERs for GE Capital.
Korean Air: 4. In a multi-type order announced on 29 December 2006, there were apparently four 737-900ERs.
Lion Air: 60. Indonesia's first low-cost carrier originally announced its intent to order up to 60 737s earlier in 2005. On July 18, a firm order for 30 was announced, worth $3.9 billion at list prices, with deliveries to start in 2007. The 30 options were exercised on 17 June 2006 with an announcement at the Farnborough Air Show. Valued at more than $2.2 billion at list prices, deliveries of these additional 737-900ERs were scheduled to begin in early 2010 and continue through 2012.
Sky Airlines: 3 + 2 options. Announced on 8 May 2006. List price value of the order was given as 226 million US-Dollars, with deliveries to start in the first quarter of 2009.
Spice Jet: 5. The order was announced on 14 August 2004, when the airline converted options on New Generation 737s. SpiceJet first announced the preliminary agreement for this order in February at the 2006 Asian Aerospace Air Show in Singapore. Deliveries are to begin in late 2007.
Travel Service: 2. The largest private airline company in the Czech Republic placed an order for two Next-Generation 737-900ERs with advanced-technology Blended Winglets in October 2006. The airline holds purchase rights for an additional two airplanes of the same model. The order was valued at $150 million at list prices. Deliveries were scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.
At the roll-out ceremony in August 2006, Patrick Schirmer, deputy program manager, put the sales potential at 200+ aircraft over 20 years.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Airbus A321-200

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The 737-900ER, formerly known as the 737-900X, is a short-to-medium range twinjet that increases the capability of the Next-Generation 737 family to finally challenge the Airbus A321. It replaces the 737-900, of which Boeing sold only 54 since its launch in July 2000. The exterior dimensions are identical to the 737-900, but aerodynamic and structural changes allow it to carry more passengers and fly farther than the 737-900. Major changes from the 737-900 include:

flat aft pressure bulkhead to enable cabin revisions for 26 additional passengers. The new bulkhead is 180 kg heavier than the traditional domed one.
additional Type 2 exit doors (60 x 131 cm) behind the wings to bring certified passenger capacity to 215
leading and trailing edge flap revisions
strengthened fuselage, wing box and center section
strengthened landing gear and supports, increased capacity wheels and brakes
option for two auxiliary fuel tanks in the cargo hold
dual position tailskid

Boeing claims 98 per cent spares commonality by investment with other members of the 737NG family
At the time of the launch, Boeing claimed that the 737-900ER has 9 per cent lower operating costs per trip and 7 per cent lower operating costs per seat than the comparable A321 model, which is more than 4500 kg heavier.

History (Geschichte)
Boeing began considering a proposal to add more seats to the 737-900 at least as long ago as early 2001. This was a renewed attempt to compete with the Airbus A321, as sales of the 737-900 had been tepid. That model is limited to 189 seats.
In mid 2002, Boeing issued preliminary data on the 737-900X, showing seating capacities of 177 and 204 passengers, with a maximum range of 5650 km.
In the spring of 2003, Boeing studied a flat bulkhead to bring capacity up to 220 seats. At that time, a launch in mid-2003 was thought possible, with entry into service in the third quarter of 2005. Rumours had it that TUI Airline Management was considering an order for as many as 60 aircraft for its charter airlines in various European countries.
In mid-2003, Boeing said that the launch of the increased capacity 737-900X could happen before year-end.
Boeing began making –900X presentations to airlines in the fall of 2003.
On 18 July 2005, Boeing officially launched the 737-900ER (Extended Range) as the newest member of its Next-Generation 737 family. This followed the completion of a sales agreement for up to 60 of the airplanes from Lion Air.
Boeing engineers completed 90 percent of the drawings for the 737-900ER on 26 January 2006. At that time, planning called for final assembly to start in May and roll-out in June 2006. A first flight was expected in September, with a five month flight test program, including two flight test airplanes, leading to certification in February 2007. The first 737-900ER was scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2007 (April).
Final assembly of the first 737-900ER (Extended Range) began on 31 May 2006, with the joining of wings and landing gear with the fuselage in Renton. First flight was now targeted for September.
Sky Airlines, based in Antalya, Turkey, became the first European customer for the 737-900ER on 8 June 2006, when it ordered three with options on two more.
At the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006, Lion Air announced that the airline exercised its purchase rights and ordered an additional 30 737-900ER (Extended Range). Valued at more than $2.2 billion at list prices, deliveries of these additional 737-900ERs were scheduled to begin in early 2010 and continue through 2012.
On 3 August 2006, Boeing announced that Continental Airlines will become the first airline in the Americas and the first two-class carrier to operate the -900ER. Continental converted orders for 12 Next-Generation 737s to the new 737-900ER model. Boeing will deliver Continental's first 737-900ER in 2008.
On 8 August 2006, Boeing unveiled the 737-900ER (Extended Range) before thousands of employees and guests at the company's Renton manufacturing facility. Indonesian dancers escorted the newest member of the Next-Generation 737 airplane family along the south shores of Lake Washington. It was said that the first 737-900ER will be delivered to Lion Air in the first half of 2007, following a five-month flight test program slated to begin on 7 September.
The 737-900ER (Extended Range) took off for the first time on 1 September 2006 at 9:21 a.m. PDT from the Renton Municipal Airport. Boeing flight test pilots, Capts. Ray Craig and Van Chaney, flew the airplane west toward the Pacific Ocean, then south to Astoria, Ore., and over Washington state's Olympic Peninsula before landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. The first flight tested the airplane's airworthiness, aerodynamic performance, stability and cruise performance. Flight controls, the autopilot, pressurization, avionics, air condition systems and the flight management computer also were checked during the flight. "It was a near flawless flight," said Craig, following the one-hour, 45-minute flight. The 737-900ER flight test program was scheduled to accrue a total of 235 hours of flight testing and 210 hours of static ground testing with two aircraft.
By mid-February 2007, two test aircraft had amassed more than 325 flight hours. YH001 had suffered a heavy landing at Edwards AFB. Software tweaks were necessary to ensure good “feel” during landings.
The 737-900ER (Extended Range) earned its type certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 20 April 2007.
Launch customer Lion Air took delivery of the first Boeing 737-900ER on 27 April 2007. The airplane was handed over in a special dual paint scheme that combines the Lion Air lion on the vertical stabilizer and the Boeing livery colors on the fuselage.

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Last updated 8 May 2007

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