Boeing 737 MAX 8

Updated: October 2026 – A 737 taxis to the runway, and something looks different: the engines are larger, the nacelles end in a serrated pattern, and at the wingtips a second, small finger points downward. Then you are very likely looking at a Boeing 737 MAX 8. On this page you will learn how to reliably tell it apart from the 737-800, what is behind the Ryanair version 737-8200 and where you are most likely to catch the type in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

What is the Boeing 737 MAX 8?

The 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737 – after the original from the 1960s, the Classic series and the Next Generation, which includes the 737-700, the 737-800 and the 737-900ER. Boeing did not design a new fuselage for it but upgraded the proven 737 with new engines, reworked wingtips, a newly shaped tail and modernized avionics. The MAX was the direct answer to the Airbus A320neo, which had come out first with a similar approach.

The MAX 8 is the core model of the family and replaces the 737-800 one for one: at 39.5 meters the fuselage is practically the same length, and according to Boeing the cabin typically offers around 160 to 180 seats in two classes. The manufacturer’s range figure is up to around 6,480 kilometers. That easily takes it from central Europe to the Canary Islands, North Africa or the Middle East.

The first flight of the first MAX – a MAX 8 – took place on January 29, 2016, in Renton near Seattle, where Boeing final-assembles the 737. The first aircraft went to Malindo Air of Malaysia in May 2017, which put the type into airline service a few days later. You can find more about the manufacturer and its history on the Boeing page.

Grounding and return

The history of the MAX includes a dark chapter. In October 2018, a Lion Air MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia, and in March 2019 an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa. In both accidents, everyone on board died. At the center of the investigations was the MCAS software, which repeatedly pushed the aircraft’s nose down when fed faulty data from a single angle-of-attack sensor.

Immediately after the second crash, the entire MAX fleet was grounded worldwide. Only after software changes, additional sensor comparisons and new training requirements did the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lift the flight ban in November 2020, with Europe’s EASA following in January 2021. For spotters, that had a visible consequence: many deliveries were delayed significantly, and at some airports factory-new MAXs stood parked for months.

The three features that are enough to identify it

From the side, the MAX 8 looks confusingly similar to the 737-800. Three details reliably separate the two, though – and two of them you can already spot at medium distance.

The engine is the most important criterion here. The reason: some 737-800s were retrofitted with Split Scimitar winglets, which also have an element pointing down. If you only look at the wingtip, you can therefore be wrong. Serrated nacelle edges, on the other hand, do not exist on the 737-800. In the end, the registration confirms the type – how to read and match it is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.

737 MAX 8, 737-800 or MAX 9?

Within the 737 world, you most often confuse the MAX 8 with its predecessor and its longer sister. The table summarizes the most important differences.

Feature	737-800	737 MAX 8	737 MAX 9
ICAO type code	B738	B38M	B39M
Length	39.5 m	39.5 m	approx. 42.2 m
Engine	CFM56-7B	LEAP-1B	LEAP-1B
Nacelle trailing edge	smooth	serrated (chevrons)	serrated (chevrons)
Wingtip	Blended, Split Scimitar or none	Advanced Technology Winglet	Advanced Technology Winglet
Tail cone	classic	reworked	reworked

Between the MAX 8 and the MAX 9, only the length helps. The MAX 9 looks more stretched, with more windows in front of and behind the wing. When in doubt, the type code in the tracking service settles the question.

Special case: 737-8200

The 737-8200 – often also called the 737 MAX 200 – is not a family of its own but a MAX 8 with denser seating, developed for Ryanair. Ryanair fits it with 197 seats, eight more than in its 737-800s with 189 seats, and markets it as the “Gamechanger.” The airline took over the first aircraft in Seattle in June 2021.

For spotters, the 8200 can be recognized by one detail: because of the higher passenger count, it needs an additional pair of emergency exits behind the wing. On each side you therefore see one more small door in the fuselage than on a standard MAX 8. In tracking services it also usually appears as B38M; you will find the designation “8200” more often in fleet databases.

MAX 8 or Airbus A320neo?

The second big risk of confusion is the Airbus rival. Both are modern narrowbody jets with large engines and striking wingtips. The finder helps you narrow it down from three observations. The basics are covered in the article Telling Airbus and Boeing apart.

Another reliable feature is the landing gear in overflight: the 737’s main landing gear has no outer doors, so you see the wheels sitting in the fuselage. On the A320 family, the wheel wells are closed. The A321neo is also considerably longer than the MAX 8 and is therefore more of a counterpart to the MAX 9 or MAX 10.

Where to find the 737 MAX 8

In Europe, the MAX 8 is above all a leisure and low-cost aircraft. Traditional network airlines in German-speaking countries such as Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian mainly use Airbus and Embraer jets on short-haul routes. Nevertheless, the MAX 8 is now part of everyday life at many airports.

• Ryanair and its sister companies fly the 737-8200 in large numbers. That makes the variant visible at almost all airports that Ryanair serves.
• TUIfly took over its first German-registered MAX 8 in June 2021 and uses the type alongside the 737-800 from German airports. Its sisters TUI Airways, TUI fly Belgium and TUI fly Netherlands also fly MAX 8s.
• SunExpress is expanding its fleet with the MAX 8 and brings it on routes between Germany and Turkey.
• Other operators include Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, Icelandair, LOT, Smartwings, Air Europa and flydubai.

Location	Chance of a hit	Why
Large leisure airports (e.g. Düsseldorf, Hannover, Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart)	high	Leisure and low-cost traffic with TUIfly, Ryanair and SunExpress
Vacation destinations like Palma de Mallorca	very high	Many European MAX operators arrive at the same time
Hubs like Frankfurt or Munich	medium	Mainly foreign airlines bring the MAX 8
Small regional airports	depends on the schedule	Often exactly where Ryanair or leisure airlines are based

How to follow such flights live and what ADS-B data tells you is explained in the guide to Flight tracking with ADS-B.

Spotting tips: leisure airports with a plan

Because the MAX 8 is so heavily involved in leisure traffic, airports with lots of charter and low-cost flights are especially worthwhile. Good starting points are the observation deck at Düsseldorf Airport, the observation deck in Hannover at TUIfly’s home airport, as well as the decks in Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart.

During holidays and on weekends, leisure flights often come in waves: departures to the south early in the morning, returnees in the afternoon and evening. The schedule and tracking services tell you exactly when a B38M is coming. What then matters for your vantage point is the runway direction in use – how to estimate it in advance is covered in the article Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport.

Whether your vantage point is legally unproblematic is answered by the article Is plane spotting allowed?.

Photo tips specifically for the 737 MAX 8

A narrowbody jet quickly looks unspectacular in photos. With the MAX 8, a few deliberate decisions make the difference.

When the light suits your spot, you can calculate in advance with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot. How to find special liveries on purpose is shown in Finding special liveries. And if you are just starting out: Recognizing aircraft types for beginners and Plane spotting for beginners get you on course quickly.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

At first glance, the 737 MAX 8 looks like an ordinary 737 – which is exactly what makes it an exciting identification exercise. Once you watch for the serrated nacelles and the forked wingtips, you will recognize it almost everywhere from then on. And because many airlines are gradually replacing their 737-800s with the MAX, it is becoming more and more common at leisure airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.