Alaska Airlines expects the Boeing 737 MAX 10 to receive certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by the end of September, placing approval of the long-delayed jet potentially just days away.
The forecast was given by Alaska Air Group Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry in an interview with Reuters. Boeing has not provided such a specific date, although CEO Kelly Ortberg said last week that certification was coming “very soon.”
Boeing has completed the MAX 10 flight-test campaign and is now working through the final documentation with the FAA. Ortberg said on September 16 that only three Boeing deliverables remained to be completed for the regulator.
The MAX 10 is the largest version of the 737 MAX family and has been awaiting certification years longer than originally planned. Boeing completed certification flight testing in July and continues to expect the first customer deliveries in 2027.
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The aircraft would become the fourth major version of the 737 MAX to receive FAA approval. The smaller MAX 7 was certified on August 3 after years of delays, but Boeing has yet to deliver the first aircraft to launch customer Southwest Airlines.
Alaska plans first flights in spring 2027
Alaska expects to receive its first MAX 10 next spring and put the aircraft into passenger service between April and mid-May.
The airline still has additional certification work to complete after the MAX 10 itself is approved. Berry said the carrier's head-up display configuration will require certification that should take a few months.
The executive described the resulting timetable as tight, telling Reuters that it “is sporting,” although he added that Alaska is not yet concerned about meeting it.
Any further delay in FAA approval would reduce the time available to complete that work before the planned entry into service.
52 MAX 10 deliveries planned in first two years
Alaska has become one of the most important customers for the largest 737 variant. The airline placed an order in January for 105 MAX 10s and secured rights for another 35 aircraft.
It was the largest aircraft order in Alaska's history and extended its Boeing delivery stream through 2035. Berry said Alaska now expects to receive 22 MAX 10s in 2027 and another 30 in 2028.
The airline plans to use the higher-capacity aircraft on routes where it can add seats without increasing frequencies, including services to New York and Boston.
The MAX 10 has also become increasingly important to Boeing's 737 backlog. According to the manufacturer, the variant represents about 30% of its outstanding 737 orders.
Production aircraft are already being assembled ahead of certification. Boeing activated low-rate initial production at its new 737 North Line in Everett in July, with the facility expected to handle a significant portion of future MAX 10 production.
