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Got to check off a box on my avgeek card on this current work trip by finally getting to ride one of the rarest Boeing 737 variants currently in US commercial service, the 737-900. It was on Seattle-Spokane run. ⁣ ⁣ The Boeing 737-900 should not be confused with the more common (and better performing) 737-900ER. Only 52 737-900s were built, less than the 737-600 (of which 69 were built). Alaska launched the 737-900 program in 1997 with orders for 10 aircraft with a first flight on 3 August 2000 and first delivery to Alaska Airlines 15 May 2001. ⁣ ⁣ Compared to the 737-800, the -900 has a 5 ft 2 in/1.57m fuselage plug ahead of the wing and a 3 foot 6 in/1.07m plug aft of the wing. Though stretched, the -900 has the same exit configuration as the 737-800 and is thus limited to the same number of maximum passengers as the -800, 189. ⁣ ⁣ Why was this? ⁣ ⁣ The original idea was to get the same number of passengers as the 737-800 but with more legroom as a minimal change derivative, but changes in the airline marketplace have meant that capacity was more important than comfort. Alaska’s -900s can only do ¾ of the way transcon and can’t do West Coast-Hawaii. They are now used primarily for trunk routes that don’t require range, like SEA-GEG, I was on a near-full flight. The European inclusive tour operators drove the design of the -900ER as they wanted better performance and more capacity. Alaska has 12 737-900s, I was on N303AS. ⁣ ⁣ By comparison (as of 2Q2022), Alaska has 77 -900ERs, 57 -800s, 23 MAX9s, and 14 -700s. ⁣ ⁣ #avgeek #aviation #airlines #aircraft #planeporn #SEA #Seattle #GEG #Spokane #SeaTac #Washington #airport #planespotting #instaplane ⁣ ⁣ #Boeing #737 #Alaska #AlaskaAirlines #N303AS⁣ #instagramaviation #splendid_transport #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeekNation (at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce2ackMLYlS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=