FAA Certification of Boeing 737-10 Completes 737 MAX Family

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certified the Boeing 737-10, the newest and largest member of the 737 MAX family, on October 20, 2026, Boeing announced. The FAA approved the amended type certificate for the airplane, and the company said the decision clears it to begin delivering the 737-10 in the coming months.

Boeing, which datelined its announcement from Everett, Washington, said the 737-10 completes the 737 MAX family, a lineup the company describes as the most efficient and flexible single-aisle offering in aviation. According to Boeing, the 737-10 is the first commercial airplane to be certified to the full extent of the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (ACSAA), which mandated enhanced documentation of safety assessments and human factors evaluations.

Certification Program and Safety Enhancements

In compliance with ACSAA and FAA certification requirements, Boeing said it completed a certification program for the 737-10 that included nearly 1,000 total test flights along with extensive safety assessments and design reviews. The program logged more than 2,000 total flight hours plus 1,000 ground test hours, and the company produced tens of thousands of pages of documentation while holding many hours of formal meetings with the FAA.

“Our flight test team ran a disciplined, methodical campaign to validate every system. That rigor gives us confidence as we move toward deliveries,” said Chris Payne, vice president and general manager of 737 Airplane Development Programs for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The 737-10 also introduces safety enhancements, including an enhanced Angle-of-Attack system that will become standard across the 737 MAX family, according to the company.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the largest model builds on the family’s common architecture and completes the 737 MAX portfolio for customers. “Completing the certification program clears the path for us to deliver a Boeing airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation. 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,” Pope said.

Capacity, Range and Order Book

In a maximum seating configuration, the 737-10 has capacity to serve 230 passengers. The airplane will typically accommodate between 185 and 210 passengers in a two-class configuration and has the range to fly up to 3,100 nautical miles (5,740 km). Boeing claims the 737-10 has the lowest per-seat costs of any single-aisle airplane in service and offers 365 nautical miles more range than competitors without auxiliary fuel tanks. The company also states that the airplane’s technological advancements result in a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel use.

More than 30 customers around the world have purchased the 737-10, with orders totaling 1,555 airplanes to date, a figure Boeing said represents more than 30 percent of the 737 MAX program’s current order book. Across the full program, customers have placed 7,350 orders for 737 MAX airplanes, of which nearly 2,500 have been delivered through the end of September 2026. The 737-10 accounts for more than 30 percent of unfilled 737 MAX orders, according to the company.

The 737 MAX family offers between 135 and 230 seats across its variants, which Boeing said provides a range of options catering to an airline’s network and fleet needs. The 737-10 joins the 737-7, 737-8, 737-8-200 and 737-9 in the family. The 737-7 typically seats 135 to 160 passengers in a two-class configuration with a range of up to 3,800 nautical miles (7,040 km); Boeing said it is designed for operators flying out of airports at high altitudes and in hot climates, and the FAA certified the 737-7 earlier in 2026. The 737-8 seats 160 to 180 passengers with a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles (6,480 km), and the company said it can profitably serve almost any short- and medium-haul market. The 737-9 has three more seating rows than the 737-8 and serves 175 to 195 passengers with a range of up to 3,300 nautical miles (6,110 km).