The long-awaited Boeing 737 MAX 10 is expected to be certified by the end of this month. Alaska Airlines expects its first aircraft by next spring, targeting an entry into service by April or May 2027. The aircraft type, which will face certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has been delayed for years, and it is hoped that no further issues disrupt the planned timetable by Alaska for introducing the plane.
Alaska will need to complete a certification process for the heads-up display used by pilots; if approved, this process alone could take several months. 
Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Ortberg, confirmed that the MAX 10 certification was imminent, and that the frames have been going through flight testing and Boeing is currently working through final documentation with the FAA.
Certification Is Integral For Boeing’s Financial Recovery
The MAX 10 is the largest version of the 737 MAX family and, at the end of June, accounted for about 31% of the American plane maker’s undelivered orders. According to Reuters, several airlines have planned for this aircraft to be a major part of their expansion plans, with Alaska expecting 22 MAX 10 deliveries in 2027 and another 30 in 2028. Alaska placed its largest aircraft order this January, ordering 105 of the type, with rights to acquire another 35, bringing its total order to 168 airframes. Timeline of the airline’s orders below:
October 26, 2022 | Alaska makes a large fleet restructuring, integrating the MAX 10 into its long-term baseline backlog. |
|---|---|
January 7, 2026 | Historic order of 105 MAX 10 jets, with 35 additional options. This was the largest aircraft purchase in the airline’s history. |
These planes are expected to operate on key routes for the airline, with extra capacity important to destinations such as New York or Boston, without the airline needing to add more flights. There are no current plans for the oneworld alliance partner to add lie-flat seats on the type.
According to Aerospace Global News, there is no evidence yet that Alaska received advance notice of any FAA certification decision. Neither Boeing nor its aircraft customers decide when the aircraft has met its requirements for a type certificate; that decision rests firmly with the FAA.
The MAX 10 First Flew In 2021
For Boeing, the long-awaited MAX 10 has been in development for years, and while it took its first flight in 2021, the certification of the type has been tied up in a wider regulatory overhaul that was enforced following the MAX 8 incidents in 2018 and 2019, where Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines saw one of their MAX aircraft crash to the ground, killing all occupants onboard.
This forced Boeing to undertake significant changes to the MAX family of planes, including the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), angle of attack, and engine anti-ice system. This led Boeing to develop design changes that have been incorporated into the MAX certification work.
In July, the MAX 10 had achieved 98% of its certification flight testing and accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours across 972 test flights. The Development Assurance Review 3 was finished, while Review 4 was two-thirds completed.
A Look At The Order Books For The Largest MAX Type
United Airlines has a total of 167 of the MAX 10 on order, and the 
Star Alliance carrier is expected to become one of the first operators of the type. Alaska, another large customer, has the clearest schedule of when it plans to introduce the plane into service, but it will not be the aircraft’s launch operator.
Other major customers for the type include Ryanair, American Airlines, WestJet, Delta Air Lines, Pegasus Airlines, Akasa Air, Air India Express, Lion Air, and SunExpress.
The first operator of the type at this time remains unclear and ultimately will be at the mercy of the Boeing delivery schedule. The type can accommodate a total of 230 passengers in a high-density layout, allowing airlines to offer more capacity without transitioning to a widebody aircraft.
