Indonesian dancers waving yellow flags highlighted the rollout ceremony for the first 737-900-E-R.

The Indonesian airline Lion Air is the launch customer for the newest and largest member of the 737 family. It can carry as many as 215 passengers on flights as far as 37-hundred miles. The airline has ordered 60 of the planes to expand operations in Asia.More than one-thousand employees and guests filled a Boeing hangar at the factory in Renton for today’s rollout.

737-900ER

The 737-900ER is the newest addition to the Boeing 737 family and was introduced to meet the range and passenger capacity of the discontinued 757-200 (the B757-300 model will be replaced by the new 787 Dreamliner), with new exit doors and fuel tanks. The rear pressure bulkhead was flattened and there were other aerodynamic changes over the -900 variant. Its advanced wing aerofoil design provides an economic cruise speed of Mach 0.78 with sprint capability of Mach 0.82. Lion Air of Indonesia launched the 737-900ER. An executive conversion is offered as the BBJ3.

The 737-900ER typically seats 180 passengers in a 2-class configuration, but in a single-class layout seats up to 215 passengers. Powered by the same CFMI CFM56-7 engines as the -700ER model , the 900ER has a range of 5,900km (3,200 nautical miles). Final assembly of the first Boeing 737-900ER began in June 2006.

The direct Airbus equivalent is the A321, though the 737-900 is slightly smaller.

Boeing 737-900 ER