M. Wynn: "Wild Card" Aviation Photography & Images: A Sight No More: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300s

About This Blog:

The primary purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of my aviation photography. As such, you will find links to my main aviation gallery on Facebook containing photos from aircraft spotting, some kind of aviation event such as air shows and fly-in events, as well as aviation museums. I also critique my flights on commercial airlines and the services they provide. Occassionally, you'll find personally written, independent articles based on news and current events involving aviation. And of course, I'll put up links to official and unofficial aviation-related websites when I find them. And when time permits, I'll talk and discuss about anything involving aviation. But most importantly, this is my way to document my journey into the aviation industry!

Friday, September 29, 2017

A Sight No More: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300s

It's the end of an era for Southwest Airlines! As of today, the airline is bidding farewell and retiring their oldest planes, the Boeing 737-300, the last of their "Classics" to make way for the new 737 MAX; the airline quietly began taking deliveries of the new plane earlier this month. With the addition of the 737 MAX and retirement of the 737-300, Southwest Airlines now has a modern fleet. The airline has been operating the -300 variant of the 737 family since the 1980s. Introduced on December 17, 1984, the 737-300 gave Southwest the capability and range to become a major airline in the United States and allowed service from coast to coast. It was the plane that helped the airline shed it's underdog status following humble, regional beginnings.

Allegedly, the accelerated retirement of the 737-300 was due to a dispute over training requirements between the airline and the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Union back in April 2016. Because the FAA mandated a varying and independent training requirement for the Classic family of the Boeing 737s versus the Next Generation (737NG) family and with the impending delivery of the new 737 MAX series, the airline suggested separating a group of pilots that would specialize in flying the 737-300s exclusively. Of course, the proposal didn't sit well with the pilots' union and was flat out rejected; there's even speculation that the union believes that such a move was divisive action by Southwest that led to the rapid replacement of the Classic fleet in favor of the Boeing 737 MAX.

Southwest Airlines is the last major U.S. carrier to operate the Boeing 737-300. In tribute of their retirement, here is a photo montage of the all the 737-300s I photographed over the years:

Boeing 737-3H4 (N383SW) "Arizona One."

Boeing 737-3T0 (N697SW). This very airframe was the same one that operated as TACA Airlines Flight 110 that made the famous deadstick landing on a Louisiana grass levee following a dual engine flameout on May 24, 1988.