How Much Does a Boeing 737 Cost?

The Boeing 737 is an incredibly popular aircraft. It is regularly used for short-haul flights. This is, in part, due to the reliability of the aircraft. However, in comparison to other larger aircraft, it is relatively cheap to buy. In fact, as a narrowbody aircraft, it is just a fraction of the price of a widebody aircraft. But, how much does a Boeing 737 cost?

Well, it is tough to say the exact cost of the Boeing 737. The price will vary depending on the version of the Boeing 737. It will also be dependent on whether an airline has managed to achieve a special deal with Boeing. However, you can expect most Boeing 737s to come in at around the $100 million mark.

Let's explain.

How Much Does a Boeing 737 Cost?

Over the years, there have been various models of the Boeing 737. We will go into rough price estimates in the following sections. The early models of the Boeing 737 were around $4 million, with the latest models capping out at around $135 million. Although, it is fair to say that the later models are much more technologically advanced than the ones being produced back in the 1960s.

The problem is that we cannot be more specific than this. Boeing is not exactly releasing the exact prices of their aircraft to the public. Well, they are. However, usually, this is not the price that airlines are going to pay in the end. Chances are that the aircraft will end up being a lot cheaper. We will discuss that part later on.

Current Boeing 737 Variant Prices

We are going to class a few models of the Boeing 737 as current models, even though some of them are not in production now but are still in service.

The Boeing 737-700 is around $89 million. The slightly longer version is the Boeing 737-800 and is around $106 million.

The main models in the Boeing 737 range now are the MAX models. These come in at:

• MAX 7 - $99.7 million
• MAX 8 - $121.6 million
• MAX 9 - $128.9 million
• MAX 10 - $134.9 million

These prices can go up and down depending on the backlog and supply chain situations that Boeing is dealing with, as well as the contract that they have with the airlines. The price of their models may also come down over time. This is the same for all products that are produced. As parts become easier and cheaper to source, prices can come down.

Discontinued Boeing 737 Models

We won't cover all of the Boeing 737 models here. There have been a few over the years. However, we'll give you some highlights.

As many of you may know, the very first model was the Boeing 737-100. This was sold for $3.7 million, which would be about $34 million in 2022. The Boeing 737-200 was a little bit more expensive at $5.2 million.

Beyond this, it is quite challenging to find the Boeing 737 selling costs for discontinued models. It seems as if Boeing didn't prioritize releasing this information. It is also around the time that Boeing really started to work with airlines, and thus there was no need to release this information. All we really can tell you is that the used price for most discontinued models is around the $4 million mark, which means they likely launched closer to the $10 million mark. However, once again, we cannot be much more specific than this.

Comparison to Airbus A320 Prices

The price of the Airbus A320neo is $110 million.

This means that, in comparison to the Boeing 737 MAX 8 which roughly equals the size and performance of the Airbus A320neo, the Airbus A320neo is a little bit cheaper.

However, the price difference "at retail" isn't going to matter too much to the airlines. It is going to be dependent on the availability of aircraft and the deals that they can negotiate with Boeing and Airbus, hence why airlines may opt for one manufacturer over another. Existing fleets and equipment also play a part here.

How Airlines Negotiate Discounts With Boeing 

As we have stated before, it is almost impossible for us to give you accurate details on how much a Boeing 737 will cost. This is because both Boeing and the airlines like to keep prices confidential.

Airlines rarely go to Boeing and pay the "retail" price. That wouldn't be sensible. Instead, airlines and Boeing will enter negotiations. Airlines will try and score the best possible price based on the number of aircraft they need and how quickly they need them. An airline needing 20 aircraft would get a better deal than an airline needing 2-3 aircraft. In some cases, Boeing and Airbus have been known to give discounts of as much as 50% of the retail price of the aircraft.

It is in Boeing's best interests to keep these negotiations confidential. They want to ensure that they get the best possible price from every airline. If an airline knows how cheap Boeing can go, future negotiations with other airlines can get much tougher.

Airlines want to keep the negotiations secret to ensure that they consistently get good prices. You may find that certain airlines will release details when they strike a bulk deal, but is rare that they will get into the specifics of pricing unless required by their shareholders.

So, take every price that we have given on this page with a grain of salt. Chances are that you have flown on a Boeing 737 which was much, much cheaper than the prices that we have quoted here.

Remember, secondhand Boeing 737s, of which there are a few, are going to be considerably cheaper.

Conclusion

The cost of the Boeing 737 can vary based on the model and negotiations between the airline and Boeing. Most current variants are around the $100-130 million mark, but it could be considerably cheaper if an airline is bulk ordering the aircraft. It is rare that you will ever find information about the exact amount of cash that an airline pays.