The original 737 was designed for short runways at small airports (5,000 ft) at a time when major cities needed at least a 10k-ft runway to accomodate the early non-fan 707s and DC-8s. As such, it had a thick wing and lots of flaps. Helped for takeoff and landing, but not so good for cruise. Then again, they were only supposed to dominate on legs of an hour or so.

As the airplane evolved and stretched, then re-engined with CFM-56s, it could go farther, but at an agonizing .68-.73 Mach.

The Bus was always designed for a .80 cruise.

NG 737s have a new airfoil (and I think less complex flaps) so as to cruise faster and save weight. The NG 737 is still a conventional airplane design with a significant tail-download on the horizontal for static and dynamic stability. This can be as much as 6-10% of the total weight of the airplane--which means the wing must support said download.

The Bus uses fly-by-wire and relaxed static and dynamic stability. Since the horizontal stab does not "push down" as much on the airplane, the wing can be smaller, since it does not have to "push up" as much. Since the wing is smaller, it weighs less..and the cycle continues. This is more significant a drag and weight savings than the Whitcomb winglets you see on NG 737s. The little "sails" you see on the Bus supposedly do not do anything for efficiency at all (a few early airplanes did not have them; I think they are a customer option).

As stated in a previous post, the Bus is wider (I thought it was 6 inches). This means each pax seat can be an inch wider--not much, but noticable. I think the aisle is slightly wider, too.

I've flown a lot of Boeing cockpits, and the Bus is more comfortable than all of them. Overall, the systems logic is the best of any non-military airplane I've ever flown. Seat comfort, air conditioning/heating, bag storage, the tray table for Jepps and/or food--everything about it was great. The "barking dog" hydraulic-transfer pump in the belly is just a quirk (keeps the pax guessing). Just wish it was made in America.

And I liked flying it. The stick is the way to go. Wish it wouldn't call me a "retard" in the flare. (Voice tells you to "retard" the throttles at about 10 ft).