Boeing Corp. reportedly will install a new production line in Everett, Wash., for the 737 MAX 10, the largest of four variants for Boeing’s top-selling aircraft. The 737 MAX program has three assembly lines now at Boeing’s Renton, Wash., plant, while the Everett complex has been the site of wide-body jet assembly.
The timing and cost of the Everett plant update are not known. The plant currently assembles the Boeing 767, mainly a cargo jet but also adapted as the KC-46 tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and some foreign defense forces; the 777 passenger and cargo jet; and the forthcoming 777X, which is expected to begin deliveries in 2026.
In recent years, Boeing relocated the widebody 787 Dreamliner program to North Charleston, S.C., and the 747 program has ended. At Everett, the new 737 MAX 10 assembly line will occupy the space formerly assigned to the 747.
Speaking at an investor conference on May 29, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg explained the new production line in Everett makes sense because the 737 MAX 10 “has the most complexity” and is to move through assembly more slowly than the other MAX models.
With the total backlog for all 737 MAX models at more than 4,700 jets, increasing the production rate for the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 is an urgent priority for Boeing. While the Renton complex has been operating under Federal Aviation Administration restrictions Ortberg also told his audience that the output there will rise toward 42 jets/month soon, and then to 47 jets/month, with FAA approval.
"Clearing the 737 MAX 10 to a separate line in Everett will allow us to keep the other three MAX production lines in Renton moving smoothly and expeditiously,” Ortberg said. “This will best position our production system for future rate increases and for when the MAX 10 is certified."
It was at the same conference that the CEO announced an upcoming production-rate increase for the 737 MAX 8 and 9 aircraft, and predicted the MAX 10 and MAX 7 variants would finally gain Federal Aviation Administration certification later this year.
The 737 MAX 10 will be the largest of Boeing’s narrow-body 737 MAX series, carrying a maximum of 230 passengers and having a maximum range of 3,300 nautical miles. The aircraft is 143 ft. 8 in. long (43.8 meters) and has a wingspan of 117 ft. 10 in. (35.9 meters.)
Boeing has logged more than 1,200 orders for the 737 MAX 10, including 167 for United Airlines, 150 for Ryanair, 115 for American Airlines, and 100 for Delta Air Lines.
