The Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 commercial jets remain on track for certification this calendar year, according to Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration chief Bryan Bedford. In an interview published this week, Bedford cautiously confirmed that FAA regulators have discovered nothing that would impede Boeing from meeting its projected date for gaining certification, but left room for that possibility.
Bedford stipulated that flight testing is still underway for the two variants of Boeing’s narrow-body commercial jet series, seeming to deflect concerns that he was prematurely clearing the new aircraft for commercial service.
Certification for the new 737 MAX variants has been anticipated for several years, delayed most recently by the FAA’s multi-month, onsite supervision of Boeing’s manufacturing processes following a January 2024 in-flight structural failure aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.
In its Q1 2026 statement, Boeing detailed that the 737 MAX 10 is in the final stage of certification flight testing for new aircraft, FAA’s Type Inspection Authorization 2, which precedes authorization of the aircraft’s conformity and airworthiness inspections.
It did not describe the certification progress for the 737 MAX 7, but nevertheless stated: “We expect certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 in 2026 and the company anticipates first delivery in 2027.”
The deliveries are a critical aspect of this issue for Boeing, because it cannot record the full revenue on an aircraft until it has completed the handover to its customer. During Q1, it recorded 143 deliveries (for all four of its commercial jet series), and revenues of $22.2 billion, up 14% from Q1 2025.
The OEM also confirmed that its 737 MAX series is now operating at a 42 aircraft per month rate, another critical factor in its goal of fulfilling its extensive order backlog.
Boeing has more than 1,400 orders in place for the 737 MAX 10, including high-volume orders from major carriers like Alaska Airlines (168 MAX 10 orders), American Airlines (115), Delta Air Lines (100), and United Airlines (167.)
The 737 MAX 10 will be the largest variant of the twin-engine jet series, capable of carrying up to 230 passengers and with a range of Approximately 3,300 nautical miles (3,796 miles / 6,110 km.)
There are fewer orders for the smaller 737 MAX 7, estimated in the range of 289 to 294 aircraft. Southwest Airlines is the primary purchaser of those anticipated aircraft. The MAX 7 will carry up to 172 passengers and have a range of 3,800 nautical miles (4,373 miles / 7,037 km.)
