Boeing wins certification for long-delayed 737 Max 7 jet

Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, described the Federal Aviation Administration's certification of the 737 Max 7 as a pivotal moment in Boeing’s recovery in a Monday memo to employees. However, that recovery faces a practical bottleneck: Southwest Airlines, the plane's launch customer, does not have the aircraft on its flight schedule through March 2027.

The FAA's amended type certificate ends a review process that lasted nearly a decade. While the sign-off allows Boeing to finally deliver the smallest variant of its best-selling family, the immediate financial impact is tempered by a mismatch between production and utility. Boeing currently has 282 unfilled orders for the Max 7, and aviation analytics firm Cirium reports that approximately 30 Max 7s have already been built and are awaiting delivery.

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Boeing's share price rose 6.7% for the day following the announcement, with a 1.2% jump occurring immediately after Reuters first reported the news.

The path to this certification was redirected by the 2018 and 2019 crashes of two Max 8 aircraft, which killed 346 people and grounded the Max fleet for nearly two years. This tragedy, followed by a January 2024 mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines Max 9, subjected Boeing to a more stringent regulatory gauntlet. The FAA required the company to address National Transportation Safety Board recommendations and implement specific technical fixes, including updates to the flight-control software, the flight crew alerting system, and a redesigned engine anti-ice system.

Beyond technical hardware, Boeing had to navigate a shifting legal landscape. In December 2020, Congress passed the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, which established new safety standards for cockpit alerts. This law created a deadline that would have forced a redesign of both the Max 7 and Max 10, though lawmakers eventually granted a waiver to allow certification to proceed with existing systems.

Production and Regulatory Recovery

The Max 7 certification arrives as Boeing attempts to stabilize its balance sheet and restore production cadence. After the January 2024 Alaska Airlines incident, the FAA capped 737 Max production at 38 planes per month. That cap was raised to 42 in October and further increased to 47 in March.

Last month, the FAA permitted Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for all 737 Max and 787 airplanes, stating that a review showed the company had demonstrated consistent production quality.

For Boeing, the Max 7 is a bridge to larger financial wins. The company is using the "important lessons" learned during this process to accelerate the certification of the Max 10 and the 777X programs. According to Mike Sinnett, Boeing's senior vice president of Product Strategy, Product Development and Development Programs, the process has provided a clearer understanding of the latest regulatory requirements regarding human factors, safety, and quality.

The Max 7 is designed for carriers seeking fuel efficiency on longer routes with lighter loads, seating between 135 and 160 passengers with a range of up to 3,800 nautical miles—providing roughly 10% more range potential than other Max variants.

The company's recovery now hinges on the Max 10. The larger variant can seat up to 210 passengers and represents at least 28% of all outstanding Max orders, with carriers like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines waiting for the aircraft. FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau indicated last month that the Max 10 approval would likely follow right behind the Max 7, with Bloomberg News reporting a likely certification in the fall.

Whether the Max 7 approval signals a genuine turnaround depends on the pace of actual deliveries and the subsequent certification of the Max 10, which remains the final requirement to complete the 737 Max family.

Certification Timeline and Delivery Backlog

The timeline was significantly delayed; at one point, Boeing anticipated approval by the end of 2022. The FAA described the eventual sign-off as the result of years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues and a thorough review of safety analyses, according to a statement from the regulator.

While the amended type certificate allows for deliveries to begin, Boeing is managing a stockpile of aircraft that were produced while awaiting regulatory approval.

Boeing is currently coordinating with Southwest Airlines to prepare for the first handover of these aircraft. For its part, Southwest stated it is pleased with the approval and expects the plane to enter service in the coming months, despite the absence of the aircraft from its current schedule.

Regulatory Evolution and the Max 10

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters in July that the agency and Boeing have improved their joint work on certifying new planes. The Max 10 will feature an enhanced flight crew alerting system, which the FAA noted in December will include a mechanism to shut off overspeed and stall warning alerts.

Because the Max 7 and Max 10 share many of the same systems, Boeing expects the lessons learned from the smaller variant to expedite the larger jet's approval. For Boeing, the next step is securing the certification of the Max 10, which Bloomberg News reports is likely to occur in the fall.