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Southwest is retiring its Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft, which are the “Next Generation” (NG) models, because it is replacing them with newer 737-8 jets and, under its stated plan, 737-7 jets. Both newer types are part of the Boeing 737 MAX family. The airline frames the move as fleet modernization and capital allocation. Its stated goal is an all-737-7/737-8 fleet with an average age of five years by 2031. Its disclosures give modernization, fuel efficiency, and capital allocation as the reasons. They do not cite safety concerns as a cause.
What is actually being retired and replaced
Southwest is not retiring its NG jets all at once or on a fixed age schedule. It is swapping them in batches as new deliveries arrive. The company’s 2025 annual report and its second-quarter 2026 quarterly filing give the clearest numbers so far:
| Period | Boeing 737-8 received | Aircraft retired | Retirement breakdown | Aircraft sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full year 2025 (2025 annual report, filed 2026) | 55 | 55 | 48 737-700s and 7 737-800s | 5 737-800s sold; not stated whether these overlap with the 7 retired 737-800s |
| Second quarter 2026 (quarterly filing) | 13 | 10 | 5 737-700s retired, plus 4 737-800s and 1 737-700 sold | 5 sold (4 737-800s and 1 737-700) |
The second-quarter figures are a single-quarter snapshot, not a full-year forecast. Across both periods, the pattern is consistent: new 737-8s arrive, and older NG aircraft leave at roughly the same pace.
The 2031 target and where it comes from
The fleet plan traces back to Southwest’s September 26, 2024 Investor Day announcement. The company described its approach in these words:
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“Southwest is pursuing opportunities to monetize the value of its fleet order book and drive a significant fleet modernization, with the goal of achieving an average fleet age of just five years in 2031.”
That sentence states a goal set in 2024. It is not a new forecast, and it is not a guarantee that every NG jet will be gone by 2031. Readers should treat it as the target the company set at that time.
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Why Southwest is doing it
Fleet modernization and average fleet age
The most direct reason is age. Replacing 737-700s and 737-800s with newer 737-8s and 737-7s brings the average age of the fleet down toward the five-year target. A younger fleet is the stated objective, and the retirements are how the company gets there.
Monetizing the order book
The 2024 plan describes the fleet work as part of an effort to monetize the value of Southwest’s Boeing order book and manage capital deployment. In practice, that means the airline is looking at options that could reduce net capital spending, including sales of older aircraft. The filings describe these options and flexibility in its order book and fleet transactions. They do not give a dollar figure for the net savings.
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Fuel efficiency
Southwest said its fuel efficiency improved in 2025 compared with 2024, and it linked that improvement in part to the fleet swap: 55 737-8s added and 48 737-700s and 7 737-800s retired. The company did not separate how much of the gain came from the new deliveries and how much came from the retirements. Readers should not assume a per-aircraft savings figure from the company’s disclosures, because none is given.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the filings do not establish
- An aircraft-by-aircraft retirement schedule. The reviewed disclosures give batch counts for 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, not a tail-by-tail plan.
- The fate of every retired aircraft. Some NG jets were sold. The filings do not say where the rest went, and they do not identify buyers or prices.
- A safety motive. The company’s stated reasons are modernization, fuel efficiency, and capital allocation. Nothing in these disclosures ties the retirements to safety concerns.
- An independent cost comparison. No independent analysis of operating costs between the NG and MAX models was found in the sources reviewed, so claims about cheaper operation should be treated with caution.
What could slow or change the timeline
Southwest says its plans depend on Boeing’s ability to deliver aircraft and on market conditions for selling aircraft. Its 2026 annual filing ties the chance to lower net capital spending through fleet sales to those same conditions. Two things matter here:
- The order book is large. As of January 29, 2026, Southwest had 467 firm orders for MAX aircraft across 2026 to 2031: 271 737-7s and 196 737-8s. The order book gives the company the capacity to keep replacing NG jets, but it does not prove when any specific NG aircraft will leave.
- Delivery timing is outside the airline’s control. If Boeing delivers more slowly than planned, retirements may slow too, because the company would have fewer replacements to swap in.
In short, the 2031 goal is a plan, not a certainty. It depends on deliveries and on whether older aircraft can be sold at acceptable terms.
Quick Recap
What to watch in future filings
- Quarterly delivery counts for the 737-8 and 737-7, compared with the number of NG retirements in the same period.
- Whether sales of 737-700s and 737-800s continue, and whether the company reports them separately from other retirements.
- Any update to the average fleet age, or any change to the 2031 target.
- Fuel efficiency comments in future annual reports, especially if the company begins to separate the effects of deliveries and retirements.
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