It Took Boeing 9 Years to Certify This Plane. 1,555 Are Ordered

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Nine years after Boeing first unveiled it at the 2017 Paris Air Show, the 737 MAX 10 finally has its certification. The Federal Aviation Administration approved the largest member of Boeing’s 737 MAX family on October 20. That clears the way for airlines to start taking deliveries, after a process that outlasted two fatal crashes, a pandemic, and years of added regulatory scrutiny. The Boeing 737 MAX certification is the last of three MAX variants to clear the FAA. The MAX 8 and a MAX 7 approval in August came before it.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stephanie Pope called the approval the result of years of work by the company’s engineering, manufacturing and flight-testing teams. That’s a notably understated way to describe a process originally expected to wrap up around 2020.

What the Boeing 737 MAX certification took to clear

The MAX 10 went through roughly 1,000 test flights and more than 2,000 flight hours. Add about 1,000 hours of ground testing on top of that, according to figures Boeing has published. The extended timeline traces back to two fatal MAX 8 crashes, in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019. Those crashes killed 346 people combined. They triggered a worldwide grounding of the MAX family and a complete overhaul of how the FAA certifies new variants of an existing aircraft design.

Who is waiting for the plane

Boeing holds 1,555 firm orders for the MAX 10, from more than 30 customers. That’s over 30% of the entire 737 MAX order book. United Airlines counts among the largest customers, with 167 firm orders on the books. Ryanair is preparing to bring the aircraft into its fleet. Boeing also names Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and WestJet among other customers awaiting delivery. The company hasn’t said which airline gets the first aircraft. It says only that deliveries will come “in the coming months,” depending on production rates and each airline’s fleet planning.

The MAX family’s order book, in context

Across the full MAX family, Boeing has now logged roughly 7,350 orders. It has delivered nearly 2,500 aircraft as of September. The MAX 10’s share of that order book stands out: more than 1,500 aircraft, over 30% of the total. That makes it the variant airlines have wanted most, largely because of its higher passenger capacity next to the smaller MAX 8 and MAX 9.

Why certification took so long

The fallout from the two crashes shaped the FAA’s entire approval process for the MAX 10. Congress passed the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act in 2020. That law overhauled how the agency oversees aircraft manufacturers. It required far more documentation and independent review than earlier MAX variants ever faced. That changed regulatory environment, more than any single technical issue with the MAX 10 itself, explains most of the gap between the aircraft’s 2017 unveiling and its 2026 certification.

What comes next for Boeing’s deliveries

Boeing now needs to ramp up production and start handing aircraft over to the airlines holding firm orders. The company says that will unfold over the coming months, not all at once. For United, Ryanair and the other waiting carriers, certification removes the single biggest uncertainty hanging over their fleet-renewal plans. The next question is simply how fast Boeing’s production line can turn orders into deliveries.

Tamara News has also covered other shifts in transport and aerospace this month, including Waymo and Toyota’s robotaxi expansion into Japan and the UK and SpaceX’s latest quarterly results.

FAQ: the Boeing 737 MAX certification

When did the FAA certify the Boeing 737 MAX 10?

October 20, 2026, according to the FAA’s own announcement and Boeing’s press release.

Why did certification take so long?

Boeing unveiled the aircraft in 2017 and originally expected it to enter service around 2020. Certification was repeatedly delayed after the two fatal MAX 8 crashes and the resulting overhaul of FAA oversight procedures.

How many orders does Boeing have for the MAX 10?

1,555 firm orders from more than 30 customers, over 30% of the entire 737 MAX order book.

Which airlines are waiting for the MAX 10?

United Airlines, with 167 firm orders, plus Ryanair, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and WestJet among the named customers.

When will deliveries begin?

Boeing says deliveries start “in the coming months.” It hasn’t named a specific first airline or date.

Have all 737 MAX variants now been certified?

Yes. The MAX 8 was certified earlier, the MAX 7 followed in August 2026, and the MAX 10 cleared in October 2026.

Sources

• Federal Aviation Administration — FAA issues certification of Boeing 737 MAX 10. faa.gov
• Boeing — U.S. FAA certifies Boeing 737-10, largest member of 737 MAX family. boeing.mediaroom.com

Image credits: featured photo by SounderBruce, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). In-content photo by Dale Coleman (GFDL 1.2).