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The airliner is a narrow-body, and has two engines under the wings ... what type of aircraft is it?

Most jet airliners in service today have two engines, one under each wing, including those manufactured by Boeing and Airbus.

Boeing continues to manufacture the highly successful twin-engine, narrow-body 737 series, while Airbus produces large numbers of its A320 family. The Boeing 757 twin-engine is out of production but still in active usage.

The Bombardier CS Series/Airbus A220 and Embraer E-Jet also have one engine under each wing, as do the regional jets from Sukhoi and Antonov.

Popular Twin-Engine Narrow-Body Airliners in Service

The chart below shows a side-by-side comparison of popular twin-engine narrow-body jetliners in service today, including the Boeing 737, Airbus 320 and the Embraer E175. It also includes the Airbus A220 (originally developed by Bombardier).
Chart showing a side-by-side comparison of popular twin-engine narrow-body jetliners in service today, including the Boeing 737, Airbus 220 and 320 and the Embraer E175.

 


Twin-Engine Narrow-Body Boeing Airliners

Boeing continues to manufacture the highly successful 737 series, with thousands in service around the world, including the popular 737-NG models.

The Boeing 737 has two engines, a main landing gear consisting of two sets of two wheels, and a triangular section at the front of the tail. The nose is "pointed".
See more Boeing 737 photographs and spotting tips
The Boeing 737 has two engines, a main landing gear consisting of two sets of two wheels, and a triangular section at the front of the tail. The nose is "pointed"


The twin-engine, narrow-body American Airlines Boeing 757 identified by its dolphin-shaped nose
See more Boeing 757 photographs and spotting tips
American Airlines Boeing 757 identified by its dolphin-shaped nose


Chart showing spotting tips between the 757-200 and 757-300 models. The –200 has 3 cabin doors on each side of the fuselage along with emergency exit doors either aft of the wing or over the wing. The -300 has 4 cabins doors.
Chart showing spotting tips between the 757-200 and 757-300 models. The –200 has 3 cabin doors on each side of the fuselage along with emergency exit doors either aft of the wing or over the wing. The -300 has 4 cabins doors.



Twin-Engine Narrow-Body Airbus Airliners

Airbus produces large numbers of its highly successful A320 family, including not only the A320, but also the A318, A319 and A321.

The narrow-body Airbus A320 has a rounder nose than Boeing jets and no leading edge "triangle" in front of its tail. The A320 was shortened into the A318 and A319, and stretched into the A321. All have similar design features.
See more Airbus A320 photographs and spotting tips
The A320 has two engines under the wings, two dual-wheel main landing gear, two cabin doors along the fuselage, two emergency exits over the wing, and the classic Airbus nose featuring the "notched" window.\

The typical Airbus A320-series airliner has a "rounded nose", a windshield straight across the bottom, and its rear windshield window "notched" at the top.
The typical Airbus A320-series airliner with a "rounded nose" and windshield straight across the bottom, and rear window "notched"

 

Spotting guide for the Airbus A320 family of jetliners:
A318, A319, A320 and A321
Spotting guide for the Airbus A320 family of jetliners

 

Airplane spotter's guide for the Airbus A319 and A320 is included below. The A319 has only one emergency exit door over each wing, while the A320 has two exit doors over the wing.
Spotting guide for the Airbus A319 and A320



The narrow-body, twin-engine Airbus A321 features four exit doors along the fuselage. Shown here is a Swiss A321-200.
See more Airbus A321 photographs and spotting tips
The Airbus A321 features four exit doors along the fuselage. Shown here is a SAS A321-200

Airbus A220

More about the Airbus A220 jet airliner
Airbus A220-100 of Swiss Air, registration HB-JBA

Embraer Twin-Engine, Wing-Mounted Narrow-Body Airliners

Embraer is manufactures a series of narrow-body, single-aisle airliners with twin wing-mounted engines as the Ejet and Ejet E2 series.

Embraer E190 of KLM of the E-Jet Series, with its twin jets mounted under the wings
More about the Embraer E-Jet series
KLM Embraer ERJ-190 with its twin jets mounted under the wings



Sukhoi Superjet 100 Airliner

The Russian Superjet 100 is a narrow body, twin engine regional jet that can accomodate up to 108 passengers. The jetliner was designed by Sukhoi in cooperation with foreign partners.

Its first flight was in May 2008, and today competes with the Bombardier C-Series and the Embraer E-jet line as well as the Antonov An-148.

The airliner is in service with a number of airlines, including Aeroflot, CityJet, Interjet and others.

See more Sukhoi Superjet 100 photographs and spotting tips

Sukhoi Superjet 100 Spotting Guide

Antonov Twin-Engine, Wing-Mounted Narrow-Body Airliners

The Antonov Company product line includes a range of regional passenger planes, from the 27−seat turboprop Antonov An-38 to the Antonov−148 and Antonov−158 jets.

The An-148/158 airliner is a high-wing monoplane with two turbofan jet engines mounted in pods under the wing. Seating arrangements can be configured for 68-99 passengers.

The An-148 and An-158 are capable for use at poorly equipped airfields due to its built-in auto-diagnosis system, auxiliary power unit, high reliability, and its wing configuration.

Over 40 Antonov An-148/158 series airliners are in service at several airlines.

Antonov AN-158, a twin-jet regional airliner

Antonov An-148, a twin-jet regional airliner
(photo courtesy of the Antonov Company)
Antonov AN-148, a twin-jet regional airliner

 


Tupolev Tu-204cm Twin-engine, Narrow-body Airliner

The Tu-204 was designed as a replacement for the Tu-154 tri-jet. The Tu-204 made full use of cutting-edge technology, including CAD modeling, extensive use of composite materials and titanium alloys, digital displays, improved sound insulation, etc.

The Tu-204SM / Tu-204CM is an advanced medium-range passenger aircraft designed by Tupolev JSC. It is a latest member of the Tu-204 aircraft family. The aircraft can carry up to 194 passengers for a maximum range of 4,800km.

(Photo courtesy of Tupolev)

Tupolev Tu-204 Airliner

Russia's MC-21-300 Narrow-Body Airliner

Russia’s MC-21-300 narrowbody completed its maiden flight at Irkutsk Aviation Plant airfield in Siberia, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow, on May 28, 2017.

It is being built by United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Irkut Corporation.

The MC-21-300 can carry up to 211 passengers, while the MC-21-200 is designed to carry 165 passengers.

The aircraft is in flight testing, with the first deliveries planned for 2019.

United Aircraft Corporation Irkut MC-21-300 Airliner
(Photo courtesy of UAC-Irkut)

Russian built MC-21-300 Narrow-Body Airliner

Mitsubishi SpaceJet

Under development by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation in Japan is the Mitsubishi SpaceJet M100, which had its first flight in November of 2015. This airliner will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney GTF PW1200G engines, one under each wing.

It was originally known as the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ).

Read more about the Mitsubishi SpaceJet M100

Mitsubishi SpaceJet
(Photo courtesy of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation)

Mitsubishi SpaceJet in flight


Comac C919

Under development by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is the narrow-body C919, which had its first flight in May of 2017. Comac also builds and markets the ARJ21, a twin-engine regional jet.

The C919 has an overall length of 127.6 feet. This airliner will be powered by two CFM International LEAP turbofan engines, one under each wing, and carry from 156-168 passengers.

It entered service in 2023 with launch customer China Eastern Airlines. About 500 of the C919 airliners have been ordered.

COMAC C919 at takeoff
(Photo courtesy of Comac)

COMAC C919 at takeoff


ATR 42 and 72

ATR is a Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer headquartered at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport in Blagnac, France. The company was created in 1981 by Aérospatiale of France (now Airbus) and Aeritalia (now Leonardo) of Italy. Final assembly is at Toulouse..

Its primary products are the ATR 42 and ATR 72 turboprop, short-haul regional aircraft. ATR has sold more than 1,500 aircraft and has over 200 operators in more than 100 countries. The ATR 72 series seats from 30-78 passengers.

The ATR -600 features a state-of-the-art glass cockpit that incorporates the latest innovations in avionics technology. The glass cockpit further reduces ight crew workload and enhances situational awareness while providing better reliability, maintenance cost savings and weight reduction. The ATR -600 series has the widest cabin in the turboprop market.

ATR-72-600
(Photos courtesy of ATR)

ATR-72-600

ATR-72-600 of Caribbean Airlines