Boeing’s 737 Max 10 Finally Wins FAA Certification, Nearly a Decade On

October 21 — Boeing’s 737 Max 10 has received certification approval from US regulators, drawing a line under the long certification saga of this narrow-body family — a process that was interrupted by two fatal crashes and a string of quality problems.

The 737 Max 10 is the largest of Boeing’s single-aisle jets and is aimed at Airbus’s A321neo. The aircraft has more than 1,500 orders and is one of the more popular variants in the Max family, with carriers including United Airlines Holdings and Alaska Air Group among its customers. The smallest member of the Max family, the 737 Max 7, was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August.

FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said in a news release: “The FAA made this decision after a comprehensive review of the aircraft’s design and safety requirements.” He added that the regulator would “continue to require Boeing to meet the highest safety standards.”

Bloomberg reported in July that the FAA expected to finish certifying the Max 10 around October. Boeing had previously disclosed a software fault in the model’s navigation system, which at one point put that timeline in doubt, but an FAA expert panel judged that the problem posed no safety risk.

Stephanie Pope, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement on Tuesday local time: “The 737-10 offers greater capacity, longer range and the best seat economics in its class, and this platform will create more value and opportunity for airlines around the world.”

The 737 MAX 10 is one of Boeing’s most important new airliners, giving airlines a replacement for the discontinued 757. The largest variant, together with the rest of the Max family, will help Boeing repair its balance sheet and cut debt. According to Boeing’s website, the model can carry up to 230 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,100 nautical miles (about 5,741 kilometres).

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that simplifying the aircraft certification process is crucial for competing with Europe and China. He noted that certifying the Max 10 took nearly a decade. At a ceremony on Tuesday local time at Boeing’s wide-body plant north of Seattle, Duffy said: “I have to get you to certify aircraft faster, and you have to get products to market faster.”

Mike Sinnett, the Boeing executive in charge of the programme, later said that Canadian and European regulators were expected to complete their own certification approvals for the Max 10 in “roughly a few months.”