ARLINGTON— Federal regulators are expected to certify Boeing’s smallest 737 MAX variant before the end of July 2026, closing out one of the longest certification delays in the planemaker’s recent history.
The approval hands a major win to Southwest Airlines (WN), the launch customer that first ordered the jet years ago and has kept aging aircraft flying while it waited. About two dozen finished MAX 7 jets already sit parked for Southwest at Moses Lake (MWH) in Washington state, ready to enter the fleet once the paperwork clears.
Boeing Approaches 737 MAX Certification Milestone
The Federal Aviation Administration is on track to approve the 737 MAX 7 in the final weeks of July, according to people familiar with the matter. Airlines cannot fly the model with passengers until it holds that certification.
The MAX 7 is the smallest of the single-aisle MAX family. The 737 line first flew in the 1960s and remains Boeing’s bestselling aircraft.
Certification would mark a significant, if belated, step forward for a company that has operated under heavy regulatory scrutiny since two fatal crashes of a larger MAX version and a later midair door-plug blowout.
An FAA spokeswoman said safety approvals would determine the exact timing of the certification. A Boeing spokesman pointed to recent comments from the company’s chief executive about its progress with regulators, WSJ reported.
FAA Set to Restore Boeing’s Safety Signoff Authority
The FAA is also expected to soon return authority to Boeing to perform final safety signoffs on newly produced 737s. The agency revoked that privilege in 2019 after the two crashes.
Last year it allowed Boeing to resume issuing some airworthiness certificates for the jets, and the coming decision would extend that trust further.
Why the MAX 7 Matters for Southwest Airlines
Southwest flies only 737s, and the MAX 7 delay has forced it to keep older jets in service longer than planned. The Dallas-based carrier still operates 737-700 aircraft that now average 20 years old.
Southwest has ordered 258 MAX 7 jets, according to recent securities filings. Boeing has already built about two dozen for the carrier, and flight-data provider Cirium lists them as parked at Moses Lake. Southwest does not plan to begin passenger service with the type until next year.
Production Ramp-Up in Everett
Boeing has been working to increase output to meet strong demand for new passenger jets. The company recently opened a new 737 MAX production line in Everett (PAE), Washington, reactivating a site that once built other models but had sat idle.
Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said earlier this year that certification programs for both remaining MAX models were in their final stages and would finish by the end of 2026. “There is clearly light at the end of the tunnel here,” Ortberg told a May investor conference.
A Certification Path Marked by Crashes and Delays
The MAX 7 approval has taken years longer than Boeing first expected. In February 2018, the company said it expected the jet to enter service in 2019.
That timeline collapsed when a 737 MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia in October 2018. A second fatal crash followed in 2019, triggering a nearly two-year grounding of the entire MAX fleet. The two crashes killed 346 people and led to years of scrutiny for both Boeing and the FAA.
Boeing later agreed to work on a design change addressing a potential safety issue, at the request of Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who then chaired the Senate aviation subcommittee. That commitment pushed the certification schedule out further.
The MAX 10 Remains the Final Step
Boeing must still win certification for the longer MAX 10, the final version of the 737 family. Major customers for that model include United Airlines (UA) and Delta Air Lines (DL). Boeing is already building MAX 10 jets ahead of expected approval later this year.
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