US regulators approved Boeing’s 737 Max 10, a new version of its flagship jet, marking a crucial milestone in the company’s efforts to restore profitability and claw back lost ground after years of crises.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday said the Federal Aviation Administration had certified the long-anticipated Max 10, a single-aisle airliner that is carrying Boeing’s hopes of a return to profitability following incidents including fatal crashes of 737 jets in 2018 and 2019.
“This is a major win for American manufacturing and our nation’s status as a global aviation powerhouse,” said Duffy.
Boeing needs the Max 10, the longest variant of the 737, to help it take on European rival Airbus in the lucrative narrow-body segment of the market. The model accounts for more than 50 per cent of all of the company’s 737 Max orders since 2020. The Max programme comprises more than 70 per cent of Boeing’s order backlog of almost 7,000 jets.
Airlines are eager to get their hands on the new model, which carries more passengers and improves the profitability of each flight, as they wrestle with elevated jet fuel costs triggered by the Iran conflict. Big carriers including Alaska, American, United and Ryanair have been waiting for years for the Max 10 to be certified.
“The 737-10 offers greater capacity, longer range and the best seat economics in its class, a platform that will create more value and opportunities for airlines around the world,” said Stephanie Pope, chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airliner business.
Final certification was delayed last month after regulators identified a software glitch that can occur when pilots need to change their planned flight path after an aborted landing. But the FAA concluded the setback did not constitute a safety issue.
Sheila Kahyaoglu, an analyst at Jefferies, noted Duffy met the chief executives of US aerospace companies including Boeing, RTX and GE Aerospace last week to discuss ways to speed up the certification process for aircraft and aviation components.
“The catalyst for reform is rooted in competition concerns from China as recent aircraft certifications have run significantly behind schedule in the US,” said Kahyaoglu.
The FAA’s push was fuelling speculation of a “faster than expected approval” of Boeing’s wide-body 777X following years of delays, she added.
Certification of the Max 10 comes weeks after Boeing’s defence business, which has struggled as a result of cost overruns on several fixed-price contracts, defeated rival Northrop Grumman to secure a $20bn contract from the Pentagon to make a new stealth fighter jet for the US Navy.
Boeing’s commercial airliner business also successfully avoided a fresh round of labour unrest after management agreed a four-year deal last month with a vital union representing engineers and scientists that had threatened a walkout over pay.
It delivered 475 commercial jets in the first nine months of 2026, up 8 per cent on the same period last year. It has received 663 orders so far this year, bringing its total number of unfulfilled orders to 6,863.