How many people can a Boeing 737 carry?

In order to better compete with offerings from Airbus, Boeing later introduced the 737-900, which was the longest variant. Alaska Airlines launched the 737-900 in 1997 and entered it into service in 2000. The 900 has only a slightly higher passenger capacity than the -800 due to exit door limitations. This is in contrast to the Airbus A321 which has 4 full doors on either side of the fuselage. Even in an all economy 189 seat maximum, seat pitch would be a generous 34 inches. Boeing's research showed that the 737-900 could make a substitute for most routes flying a 757. Airlines however shied away from it and only 54 were sold as of August 2006 compared to over 270 for the A321 during the same period. The 900 can still be ordered but the much improved ER version should prove more popular.