Boeing 737 MAX 10 wins FAA approval after six years of delays, seats up to 230

The US Federal Aviation Administration certified the Boeing 737 MAX 10 on Tuesday, clearing the largest jet in Boeing's best-selling family to carry passengers after about six years of delays, CNBC reported. It is the last 737 MAX model to win US approval: the smallest, the MAX 7, was certified in early August.

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 in brief

• Seats: up to 230 passengers, the most of any 737
• Original target: in service in 2020
• Share of orders: about 30% of Boeing's 737 MAX backlog, according to the company
• Launch customers named by CNBC: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines
• Boeing shares: up 0.36% on the day

Why it took six years

The MAX 10 was caught in the fallout from the two MAX crashes of 2018 and 2019, which grounded the whole family worldwide and brought much closer scrutiny of every new Boeing model. Engineers also had to redesign parts of the jet, including the anti-icing system for its engines. A few weeks before approval, US officials reviewed a navigation system glitch on the aircraft and judged that it was not a safety-of-flight issue.

"Completing the certification program clears the path for us to deliver a Boeing airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation," said Stephanie Pope, who runs Boeing's commercial aircraft business.

The wait has been costly for airlines. United's chief executive, Scott Kirby, told CNBC in August that the airline had waited so long that the lie-flat seats it bought for the MAX 10 no longer fit its plans and were sitting in a warehouse. Alaska Airlines said last month it would fit lie-flat seats on some of its MAX 10s. Certification does not mean passengers fly on it tomorrow: airlines usually need months to bring a new type into their schedules.

A push to certify planes faster

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy used the moment to call for a quicker process. He told CNBC that certifying an aircraft in Europe takes Boeing "less than half the time" it takes in the United States, and that China is trying to take over in aviation. "We have to certify aircraft more quickly if we're going to compete as Americans," he said.

For Boeing the approval matters for cash. Airlines pay most of a plane's price on delivery, so every MAX 10 that leaves the factory brings money in. The company opened a fourth 737 MAX production line in Everett, Washington, in July as it tries to speed up output of the MAX and the 787 Dreamliner.

What it means for flyers from Pakistan

No Pakistani airline has announced a MAX 10 order, and the first operators named are US carriers, so the jet will not appear on Pakistani routes soon. PIA, for its part, is expanding with leased Boeing 777s and 787s; see our report on PIA's new Business Class seats on five Boeing 777s.

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