Overview
- The FAA has certified the 737 Max 7, allowing Boeing to start delivering the smallest model in its Max family to customers.
- The Max 7 seats roughly 135 to 160 passengers and has a range of about 7,000 kilometers, and Boeing reports more than 280 orders for the type.
- Regulators tightened oversight after two fatal 2018–2019 Max crashes that killed 346 people and after a January 2024 incident when a cabin panel detached from an almost-new Alaska Airlines Max 9.
- FAA chief Bryan Bedford has said the agency and Boeing have improved cooperation on aircraft certification, a factor company officials point to as helping clear the Max 7.
- Boeing said it expects certification for the larger 737 Max 10 by year-end, a development that would let the company further fulfil narrowbody orders and sharpen competition with Airbus.