Longitudinal vortices generated by winglet type vortex generators mounted on fin surface improve fluid mixing with disruption of boundary layer growth, which results in convective heat transfer enhancement. The present study reports the three-dimensional numerical investigation of airflow through heated fin-tube heat exchangers in presence of common flow down configured rectangular winglet pairs (RWPs) for staggered arrangements of circular tubes. It is well known that the thermal performance of a fin-tube heat exchanger is majorly influenced by various locations of winglets corresponding to tube centre. Henceforth, fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of different possible RWP locations concerning each tube are examined. Further, for higher performance, a search for an effective angle of attack ranging from 15° to 60° is also performed for optimized locations. The effect of different inlet flow conditions is also investigated for Reynolds number ranges from 2000 to 10,000. Thermohydraulic performance is studied by considering Nusselt number, friction factor, secondary flow intensity and thermal performance factor. Irreversibilities due to RWPs are analysed by calculating the entropy generation rate due to viscous and heat transfer effects. Obtained results illustrate that the selection of promising RWP locations plays a vital role in improving thermal performance. The relationship between heat transfer, secondary flow and irreversibility parameters are also reported. © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS