Special livery
California One state flag livery
A Southwest aircraft painted with the California state flag.
Confirmed Sep 28, 2026
Airframe story
N8653A is a Boeing 737-8H4, serial number 37037, delivered on 17 December 2014. Per registry records, the Boeing Company held it during 2014 in Washington state before Southwest Airlines Co took over registration in Texas starting 12 January 2015, where it remains today. Over the observed year the aircraft flew 1,530 flights totaling nearly 2,870 hours, a workload in line with sister ships like N8654B, N8613K, and N8314L, which each logged more than 1,700 flights in the same period. Its longest recent ground stop was 47 days at Houston Hobby, home to Southwest's largest technical operations complex, a 240,000 square foot facility with offices, training space, and a hangar that allows nearly 400 Houston-based technical employees to work on up to six 737s indoors at once, making it a plausible site for whatever maintenance kept the jet parked there. Shorter stops followed at Paine Field, Dallas Love, and Minneapolis-St. Paul before the aircraft's current, ongoing stay at Detroit Metro.
Sister ships
- N8654B · Southwest Airlines1664 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Sep 26
- N8613K · Southwest Airlines1786 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Oct 10
- N8314L · Southwest Airlines1734 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Oct 10
- N8309C · Southwest Airlines1539 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Oct 10
- N8306H · Southwest Airlines1634 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Sep 20
- N8301J · Southwest Airlines1547 flights since at least Oct 2025, last seen Sep 26
127 Boeing 737-8H4 are in the FAA records; 112 still registered; 121 flew in the last year. Most sit with Southwest Airlines Co (74) and Umb Bank Na Trustee (32).
From the FAA registry and observed flights. Inferences are labeled; outside facts are cited.