Boeing 737 Classic

The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the 737. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in February 1984 and entered service that December with Southwest Airlines. The stretched 737-400 first flew in February 1988 and the shortest variant, the 737-500, in June 1989, entering service in 1990. Compared with the original series it was re-engined with the CFM56 high-bypass turbofan for better fuel economy and had upgraded avionics, which meant placing the engine ahead of the wing and giving the intake a distinctive non-circular shape because of the 737's low ground clearance. It competed with the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and then the Airbus A320 family, which prompted the 737 Next Generation. In total 1,988 were delivered from 1984 until production ended in 2000: 1,113 of the -300, 486 of the -400 and 389 of the -500.