Wanted: Good Used 737 Jets Boeing’s Smallest Plane Is In Big Demand, Short Supply

Western Pacific Airline’s dream when it was launched two years ago was to copy the Southwest Airline blueprint for success by flying just one model of airplane: the Boeing 737.

One model means lower costs to train and certify mechanics, savings on spare parts inventories and lower crew costs.

So why are there now two older, noisy 727s carrying Western Pacific passengers to and from its Colorado Springs, Colo., base?

The answer is simple: It’s almost impossible to find a good, used 737 right now.

While there are about 2,800 flying, few are for sale or lease. The 737 is the most popular commercial jetliner ever produced.

“They’re getting tougher and tougher to find,” said Bob Schulman, a spokesman for Denver-based Frontier Airline. “They’re there occasionally, but the competition on them is pretty intense.”

So intense that a good, used 737-300 now goes for up to $23 million - as much as $4 million more than it would have cost just two years ago, said Bellevue aircraft appraiser Bill Becker. A new model lists for $35 million.

“It’s an appreciation of value as a result of scarcity.”

What it means is that newer companies hoping to expand to new markets or add additional flights are forced to rethink those plans - or consider buying or leasing new Boeing jetliners.

Frontier’s doing both - altering its planes and acquiring a new Boeing jetliner.

“We’d like to be able to expand somewhat faster, but the planes are in big demand,” Schulman said.

“We got our first five planes from USAir. Then it was quite awhile before we got the next two and even longer than the next two.

“We’ve cut a deal (to lease a new 737 from International Lease Finance Corp.) next April, but we’d like to get two or three more before then.”

Used aircraft are listed for sale in trade journals or on the Internet, but the ads can be deceptive, according to Becker.

“When you really get down to push and shove, they’re not really available. They’re out for lease as being available in a couple of months, but when you look into it you find that the present operator has an option to continue the lease, which they almost always exercise,” Becker said.

Boeing’s feeling the bump, but can’t quantify how much of the surge for new 737s is driven by the shortage.

“This has happened before, not just for the 737 but for all of the airplane models,” said Ray Bracy, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group’s director of airline industry analysis.