Boeing (BOE, Washington National) expects to start delivery of its smallest and largest B737 MAX variants to customers next year. The aircraft manufacturer made the disclosures in July 26 SEC filings accompanying its latest quarterly report.
"We are following the lead of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as we work through the certification process of the B737-7 and B737-10 models," reads the filing. "We continue to expect the B737-7 to be certified in 2023, and now expect the first delivery in 2024. We continue to expect the B737-10 to begin FAA certification flight testing in 2023 with first delivery in 2024."
The ch-aviation fleets module indicates five airlines have ordered 245 B737-7s, with Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) by far the largest customer with 207 on order, followed by Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid) with thirty B737-7s, Luxair (LG, Luxembourg) with four, Ruili Airlines (DR, Kunming Changshui) with two, and SkyUp Airlines (PQ, Kyiv Boryspil) also with two. Boeing is retaining two, including using one as a test bed, while a further sixty B737-7s are unassigned. The larger B737-10 has proven more popular, with 1,018 on order across 19 customers.
Boeing is attributing the delays in getting its B737-7s and B737-10s certified and delivered to tougher FAA requirements, with the certification process becoming more intensive since the prolonged worldwide grounding of the MAX type aircraft. The B737-7 was originally due to begin flying for launch customer Southwest Airlines in 2022. United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) is expected to be the launch customer for the B737-10, with that aircraft type due to start undergoing certification and test flights this year.
"Safety dictates the timeline of certification projects. We cannot discuss ongoing certification projects," said the FAA via a statement addressing the certification delays.
