Sean Broderick February 19, 2026
Credit: Images-USA/Alamy Stock Photo
Southwest Airlines remains “optimistic” that its first Boeing 737-7s will arrive late this year and enter service in early 2027, a top executive said.
“We’re being told, later this year they will get regulatory approval,” Fleet Asset Management Director Ken Barone said at the recent Aviation Week AeroEngines Americas conference. “I have no concerns about anything getting in the way of that. And once that happens, we’ll spend about four to six months getting them ready to get into service.”
The carrier, which once planned to have 72 737-7s in service by 2023, is confident that the long wait for its 737-700 replacements is nearly over. If certification and first deliveries come early enough in 2026 – say, sometime around the beginning of the fourth quarter – Southwest would be on track to conduct its first 737-7 revenue flights in early 2027.
“If we get approval [in the] second half of this year, [entry into service] would be early 2027,” Barone said.
Boeing has rolled out 28 737-7s, some of them before the 2020 downturn, Aero Analysis Partners data show. Most of these are expected to end up with Southwest. Some pre-delivery work will be required to meet the model’s yet-to-be-finalized, FAA-approved baseline configuration, but deliveries will likely start soon after regulatory approval is granted.
Southwest then will have to earn its own approvals for several items it will pair with its newest variant, including left-seat head-up display (HUD). The carrier has equipped its new 737s with HUDs since 1995. Arrival of the new 737-7s will accelerate Southwest’s fleet modernization. The carrier operates an all-737 fleet of 800 aircraft, Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery database shows.
The 737-8 is Southwest’s largest subfleet, with 302 aircraft. It also has 301 737-700s, which the 268 737-7s on order will largely replace, and 197 737-800s.
The carrier expects to add 66 737-8s this year, while retiring 60 older airframes.
Sean Broderick
Senior Air Transport & Safety Editor Sean Broderick covers aviation safety, MRO, and the airline business from Aviation Week Network’s Washington, D.C. office.
- SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
- BOEING 737 MAX