Boeing 737-200

The 737-200 came out of a request from United Airlines. On April 5, 1965, barely two months after the programme launch, Boeing announced a United order for 40 aircraft; the airline wanted slightly more capacity than the initial model offered, so the fuselage was stretched 36 inches (91 cm) ahead of the wing and 40 inches (102 cm) behind it. The longer version was designated 737-200 and the original short-body aircraft became the 737-100; detailed design continued on both simultaneously.

The first -200 was rolled out on June 29, 1967, and made its maiden flight on August 8, 1967. The FAA certified it on December 21, 1967, and the inaugural United flight took place on April 28, 1968, from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Airlines widely preferred the lengthened -200 over the -100, which remained a short run. Its unit cost was US$4.0 million in 1968 and US$5.2 million in 1972.

The early years were difficult. After a peak of 114 deliveries in 1969, only 22 737s were shipped in 1972, with 19 in backlog. The US Air Force saved the programme by ordering the T-43, a modified 737-200 for navigator training, and African airline orders kept production running until the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, which improved demand for six-abreast narrow-body aircraft.

The improved 737-200 Advanced was introduced into service by All Nippon Airways on May 20, 1971, and became the production standard in June 1971. From aircraft #135 it brought improved aerodynamics, automatic wheel brakes, more powerful engines and more fuel capacity, giving a 15% increase in payload and range over the original -200s. Boeing also offered the 737-200C (Combi), convertible between passenger and cargo use, and the 737-200QC (Quick Change), which allowed a rapid conversion between roles.

Its short-field capabilities led Boeing to offer the Unpaved Strip Kit, an option for remote, unimproved or unpaved runways that competing jetliners could not use safely. It included a gravel deflector on the nose gear and a vortex dissipator extending from the front of each engine, reducing foreign object damage. Alaska Airlines used the kit on some of its combi aircraft for rural operations in Alaska until retiring its -200 fleet in 2007; Air Inuit, Nolinor Aviation and Buffalo Airways still use it in Northern Canada, and Canadian North operated a gravel-kitted 737-200 Combi that was due to be retired in early 2023.

The -200 also saw military and government use. The Indonesian Air Force ordered three modified 737-200s, designated 737-2X9 Surveiller, for maritime patrol and transport, fitted with the Motorola SLAMMR side-looking airborne multi-mission radar; they were delivered between May 1982 and October 1983. In Brazil the VC-96 designation was applied to two 737-2N3s operated by the Air Force's Special Transport Group. Later, the Quiet Wing Corp modification kit, certified in 2005, added mini-winglets to the -200s that received it.

The 1,114th and last delivery of a -200 series aircraft was in August 1988, to Xiamen Airlines. In March 2008, after 40 years, the last 737-200s in scheduled US passenger service were phased out with the final flights of Aloha Airlines, although as of 2018 the variant still flew regularly with North American charter operators such as Sierra Pacific Airlines. As of September 2023, fifty examples were still flying with thirty carriers, a relatively high number for an early jet airliner, and during the 737 MAX groundings older 737s, including the -200, were in demand for leasing.