The Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 are the two best-selling commercial aircraft families in history, and between them they carry the majority of the world's short- to medium-haul passengers. Their competition has defined commercial aviation for four decades and shows no sign of resolution.
Full guides: Boeing 737-800 · Airbus A320
| Boeing 737-800 | Airbus A320 | |
|---|---|---|
| First flight | 1997 | 1987 |
| Origin | United States | European Union |
| Length | 39.5 m | 37.6 m |
| Wingspan | 35.8 m | 35.8 m |
| Max speed | 876 km/h | 871 km/h |
The 737 and A320 are narrow-body, twin-engine jets of similar size carrying similar numbers of passengers over similar ranges — but they are philosophically different in several ways. The A320 was designed from scratch in the mid-1980s with fly-by-wire controls, a side-stick rather than a control column, and digital fly-by-wire flight management as a core design feature. Its pilots fly with side-sticks instead of yokes, and the aircraft's computers enforce flight envelope limits that prevent the pilot from over-stressing the airframe. The 737 began life in 1967 — its original fuselage cross-section, cockpit dimensions, and undercarriage geometry all reflect that heritage. The MAX variants (the current production line) retain a conventional yoke and have been substantially re-engineered, but the aircraft's low ground clearance (a legacy of its 1960s origins, when engine placement close to the ground was necessary for small engines) has driven compromises including the MCAS system that was implicated in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents of 2018–19. Practically, passengers find both aircraft comfortable on short and medium haul — the A320 has a slight cabin width advantage (155.5 inches versus 148 inches), and some operators prefer its cabin for comfort on longer sectors.
The A320 has a marginally wider cabin, and this translates to slightly wider seats in the same row configuration. In a standard 3-3 economy layout, seats on the A320 are typically 17.2 inches wide versus 17.0 on the 737-800 — a small but measurable difference. The A320's cabin also tends to have lower noise levels from the avionics and air conditioning system, and many airlines fit it with a higher-quality cabin interior. The 737-800 is not a bad aircraft to fly on — it is extremely familiar to frequent flyers and broadly comfortable — but independent passenger satisfaction surveys consistently show a slight preference for the A320 family. The A320neo (New Engine Option), with CFM LEAP or Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, is significantly quieter than older variants and the difference in cabin noise over the 737-800 is noticeable. For connecting flights and shorter sectors, the difference is marginal. On a 3–4 hour sector, the A320's slightly wider cabin and typically quieter engines make it the more comfortable option for most passengers.
The two aircraft are very closely matched. The 737-800 has a wingspan of 117.8 ft (35.9 m); the A320ceo's wingspan is 111.2 ft (33.9 m), though the A320neo with sharklets reaches 117.5 ft (35.8 m) — nearly identical. The 737-800 carries up to 189 passengers in an all-economy layout; the A320 carries up to 180. Both aircraft cruise at Mach 0.78–0.82 and have a maximum range of around 3,300 nautical miles, sufficient for transcontinental and medium-haul European and Asian routes. The 737-800 has a maximum takeoff weight of 174,200 lb (79,016 kg); the A320ceo's is 170,000 lb (77,110 kg). In practical airline use, these differences are negligible — airlines select between the two families on the basis of purchase price, fuel costs, maintenance agreements, pilot training, and fleet commonality rather than performance specifications.
Both types are operated on every inhabited continent by hundreds of airlines. The 737 family has been the dominant US domestic aircraft for decades — Southwest Airlines alone operates over 750 737s, making it the world's largest operator of a single aircraft type. The A320 family dominates in Europe, where Ryanair (primarily 737 MAX) and easyJet (A320 family) represent the two largest European low-cost carriers with different preferences. In Asia both types are widespread: IndiGo and Air India operate large A320 family fleets in India; Lion Air and others operate large 737 fleets in Southeast Asia. The MAX's grounding following the 2018–19 accidents affected operators globally and in some markets accelerated switches to the A320neo. Both families are sold with similar frequency to most of the world's major markets.
The 737 came first, flying in April 1967 — nearly 20 years before the A320's March 1987 first flight. This heritage is both the 737's greatest strength and its most significant liability. The 737 had built up a massive installed base of operators, pilots, and maintenance infrastructure by the time Airbus launched the A320. Airlines valued the commonality with existing fleets, the trained pilot pool, and the established supply chain. But the 737's 1967 origins constrained every subsequent variant. The fuselage cross-section was set, the low ground clearance was fixed, and modernising the aircraft required working within those constraints. The A320, designed from a blank sheet in the 1980s, could incorporate fly-by-wire, wide-chord fan blades, and modern cabin standards from the start. The MAX crisis exposed how deeply the 737's original design decisions still constrained Boeing in 2017–18. The A320 family's clean-sheet origins meant the neo upgrade was more straightforward — the LEAP and GTF engines fitted under the A320neo wing without the aerodynamic compromises that drove the development of MCAS on the MAX.
Both types are ubiquitous at any commercial airport worldwide — they are the most commonly seen aircraft at the vast majority of airports outside China. In North America the 737 is the dominant type; in Europe the A320 family is broadly equivalent. At Heathrow, Gatwick, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and most European hubs, the A320 family (A318/A319/A320/A321) accounts for a very large share of movements. In the US, major domestic hubs see a mixture: Southwest's 737s dominate some airports entirely, while American and United mix both types. A spotter visiting any major international airport can expect to log multiple examples of both families in a single session. The current production variants — 737 MAX 8 and A320neo — are increasingly common and distinguishable by their distinctive LEAP or GTF engines with notched exhaust nacelles. The classic 737-800 and A320ceo remain widespread and will continue to appear in large numbers for another decade at least.