Boeing won regulatory approval for the largest version of the 737 Max on Tuesday after a six-year delay. The certification of the plane, the Boeing 737 Max 10, clears the way for Boeing to try to catch up with Airbus, its European rival, which became the world’s top airplane manufacturer in recent years. The Max 10 is already an important part of Boeing’s portfolio of commercial planes, accounting for about a quarter of its outstanding orders, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm.
Airlines have increasingly favored larger planes like the Max 10 to cater to rising global travel demand and manage congestion at airports. The Max 7, the smallest in the plane family, was approved in early August. The Max 7 can carry up to 172 passengers compared with 230 for the Max 10.
The Max 10 was originally expected to be certified in 2020, but approval was delayed for several reasons, including two fatal crashes of the 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019 in which 346 people died. Those crashes led to a nearly two-year global ban on Max flights. Boeing suffered another setback in 2024 when a panel blew off a Max 9 plane during a flight.
To win approval for the Max 10, Boeing also had to make some safety retrofits and redesign the jet’s engine anti-icing system. The announcement on Tuesday clears the way for Boeing to begin delivering the Max 10, which Boeing has started producing. The first deliveries are expected next year.
The company completed the final Max 10 certification flight this summer, ending a testing campaign that included 976 flights in all. United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Ryanair, the European carrier, are among the biggest buyers of the Max 10. Boeing has fallen well behind Airbus in recent years in selling narrow-body planes like the 737 and the Airbus A320.
More than 10,200 Airbus narrow-body planes are in active use worldwide, compared with 8,200 Boeings, according to Cirium. Airbus has amassed orders for more than 8,200 narrow-body planes, and Boeing has about 5,000. The last time there were more narrow-body Boeing jets in use than Airbus planes was in 2017.
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