Identifying Between an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 737 from Outside

The most common commercial aircraft today are the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. They serve both legacy and low-cost airlines. They can be found in almost every airport around the world. If you’re flying in a single-aisle narrowbody jet plane, there’s a good chance you’ll be in an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737.

Many passengers continue to mistake an A320 for a 737 and vice versa. In the Philippines, I’ve heard some passengers inquire whether Cebu Pacific’s aircraft (an A321neo) is a 737. As a result, here’s how to tell the difference between a Boeing 737 and an Airbus A320 for beginners by simply looking at the aircraft from the outside.

Check the nose of the aircraft

The nose, or tip of the airplane, indicates whether it is a Boeing or an Airbus.

• Check to see if the plane’s nose is sharp and not round. If the nose of the aircraft is sharp, it is most likely a Boeing.
• If the nose is round and shaped like a semi-circle, it is most likely an Airbus.

Notice the cockpit windows

The cockpit windows make it easy to tell if an aircraft is a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320. Examine the sides of the windows, particularly the angle of the last window pane.

• Check to see if the side point of the last two window panes’ conjoining is angular. It is most likely a Boeing 737 if the conjoining angles of the two side windows are wide and less square.
• Examine the last window pane’s side for a sharp angle. If the window pane forms a right angle (90o) or is close to a right angle at its intersection with the aircraft’s body, it’s most likely an Airbus A320.

Shape of engines from the front

Boeing and Airbus engines are markedly different. Their size and shape are very different, making it easy to tell whether a plane is Boeing 737 or Airbus A320.

• Examine the engines to see if they have a flat bottom. The bottom of a Boeing 737 engine is flat, and the top is more circular. This is not the case with the new Boeing 737 MAX series.
• Check to see if the engines are completely circular. The engines on Airbus A320s are almost perfectly circular.

Look at the vertical stabilizer or the tail

Look for a slope in the tail, or the fin at the back of the plane, where it meets the plane’s body.

• Examine whether the plane’s tail reaches the plane’s body with an extended slope. It is a Boeing 737 if the tail of the plane reaches the plane with an extension, causing the tail to connect with the plane less sharply.
• Check to see if the plane’s tail is sharply connected to the plane. This means that there is no extended slop between the tail and the plane’s body. If there is no slope, it is an Airbus A320.

In some cases, you can tell by just knowing the airline

Some airlines operate an entirely Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 fleet. If you fly with AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, or Indigo, you will almost certainly be flying on an A320 variant, as these airlines operate an all-Airbus A320 family fleet. If you fly with Southwest, RyanAir, or FlyDubai, you will be on any of the 737 variants because these airlines operate an all-737 fleet.

Some will tell you to look at the wingtip. True, only the Airbus A320 has a wing-fence, whereas the 737 is the only one with a split-scimitar winglet. However, they share an identical blended wingtip on some A320s with ‘sharklets’ and 737NGs.

While there are also other ways such as looking at the belly of the aircraft and the cockpit, those indicated above are the easiest identifiers between an Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.