Boeing 737-400 — specifications and route economics
Boeing 737-400 (B734) — up to 188 seats, MTOW 68.0 t, CFM56-3B-2. With FlightCost you can calculate any route on this type for free: fuel, airport and air navigation charges, crew, maintenance, leasing and the break-even load factor — with a source for every number.
Calculate a route on the B734 →Drawing
Top view at the same scale as its class neighbours.
Specifications
| Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seats, typical layout | 160 | OpenAP |
| Seats, maximum | 188 | OpenAP |
| Maximum take-off weight (MTOW), t | 68.0 | OpenAP |
| Maximum landing weight, t | 56.2 | OpenAP |
| Operating empty weight (OEW), t | 33.7 | OpenAP |
| Fuel capacity, t | 20.0 | OpenAP |
| Cruise Mach | 0.78 | OpenAP |
| Cruise altitude, m | 11,000 | OpenAP |
| Engine | CFM56-3B-2 | OpenAP |
| Number of engines | 2 | OpenAP |
| Length, m | 33.4 | OpenAP |
| Wingspan, m | 28.9 | OpenAP |
| Fuselage width, m | 3.73 | OpenAP |
| ICAO aerodrome code letter | C | OpenAP |
Economics on Frankfurt — Barcelona
1,093 km along the flight path, 2.1 h block, 80% load factor — 150 of 188 seats (certified maximum), July. Calculated by the FlightCost engine; ownership, maintenance and crew rates are defaults: 32% of the total rests on assumptions.
| Item | EUR | Share | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 5,554 | 29% | calculation |
| Airport charges | 4,645 | 24% | calculation |
| Maintenance | 1,901 | 10% | calculation |
| Crew | 1,791 | 9% | assumption |
| Distribution and sales | 1,334 | 7% | assumption |
| Ground handling | 1,230 | 6% | assumption |
| Aircraft ownership | 1,216 | 6% | assumption |
| En-route charges | 1,148 | 6% | calculation |
| Terminal charge | 242 | 1% | calculation |
Types of this class on the same route
Same route, load factor and assumptions — only the aircraft type differs.
| Type | Seats, max | flight, EUR | per seat, EUR | CASK, ¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | 230 | 21,175 | 92 | 8.4 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | 220 | 21,290 | 97 | 8.9 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 210 | 20,404 | 97 | 8.9 |
| Boeing 737-900 | 215 | 21,219 | 99 | 9.0 |
| Boeing 737-400 | 188 | 19,062 | 101 | 9.3 |
| Airbus A319neo | 160 | 16,394 | 102 | 9.4 |
| Airbus A321neo | 244 | 25,081 | 103 | 9.4 |
| Airbus A320neo | 194 | 20,012 | 103 | 9.4 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 189 | 20,121 | 106 | 9.7 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 7 | 172 | 18,328 | 107 | 9.8 |
| Airbus A321 | 220 | 23,518 | 107 | 9.8 |
| Airbus A220-300 | 160 | 17,142 | 107 | 9.8 |
| Embraer E195-E2 (ERJ 190-400) | 146 | 15,702 | 108 | 9.8 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 239 | 26,352 | 110 | 10.1 |
| Airbus A320 | 180 | 20,166 | 112 | 10.3 |
| Boeing 737-700 | 149 | 17,005 | 114 | 10.4 |
| Airbus A220-100 | 135 | 15,462 | 115 | 10.5 |
| Tupolev Tu-214 (PS-90A engines) | 210 | 24,197 | 115 | 10.5 |
| Airbus A319 | 156 | 18,192 | 117 | 10.7 |
| Airbus A318 | 136 | 16,368 | 120 | 11.0 |
| Embraer E195 (LR) | 124 | 15,266 | 123 | 11.3 |
| Embraer E190-E2 (ERJ 190-300) | 114 | 14,182 | 124 | 11.4 |
| Embraer E190 (LR) | 114 | 14,890 | 131 | 12.0 |
Lease rate and maintenance cost: estimates for ownership and upkeep
If you do not enter your own rates, the calculator uses estimates from weight and seat count. These are parametric, not operator data: each one can be replaced in the calculation.
| Lease, EUR per month | 171,983 |
| Utilisation, flight hours per month | 300 |
| Ownership per flight hour (lease ÷ hours), EUR | 573 |
| Maintenance, EUR per flight hour | 510 |
| Maintenance, EUR per cycle | 819 |
| Crew, EUR per flight hour | 652 |
| Crew, EUR per cycle | 242 |
Maintenance by year — US carriers' reports (Form 41)
Maintenance cost per block hour as reported by US carriers flying this type: direct (labour, materials, outside services) and full — with the maintenance department's overheads. Dollars of each year, not restated. 2020 stands above its neighbours: flying dropped, the fixed part of the cost stayed.
2023: direct USD 1,454, with overheads USD 1,454 per block hour, 1 carriers
Source: BTS, Form 41 Schedule P-5.2; analysis in the “Maintenance” research. →