FAA set to certify Boeing 737 MAX 7 later this month

FAA expected to return final safety signoff authority to Boeing

The 737 MAX 7 is the smallest of the single-aisle MAX family and is on track to gain approval in the latter weeks of July, assuming no late snags, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The jet must be certified before it can carry passengers.

The FAA is also expected to soon give Boeing back the authority to perform final safety signoffs of newly produced 737s, according to the same people. The agency revoked that privilege in 2019 after the two fatal MAX 8 crashes, which killed 346 people. Last year, the FAA allowed Boeing to resume issuing some so-called airworthiness certificates for the jets.

An FAA spokeswoman said safety approvals would dictate the timing of the MAX 7 certification. A Boeing spokesman referred to the company’s chief executive’s recent comments about progress with regulators.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said earlier this year that certification programs for both future MAX models were in their final stages and would be done by the end of 2026. “There is clearly light at the end of the tunnel here,” Ortberg said at a May investor conference.

The certification of the MAX 7 has dragged on for years. In February 2018, Boeing said it expected the jet to enter service in 2019. But in October 2018, a 737 MAX 8 took a fatal nosedive in Indonesia, and a second fatal crash occurred in 2019, leading to a nearly two-year grounding of the plane. The crashes resulted in years of scrutiny for Boeing and the FAA.

Boeing later agreed to work on a design change for a potential safety issue at the request of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who at the time was chairwoman of the Senate’s aviation subcommittee. That further dragged out certification.

The MAX 7’s approval would be a long-awaited boost for one of Boeing’s biggest customers, Southwest Airlines. The Dallas-based carrier only flies 737s and has ordered 258 MAX 7 jets, according to recent securities filings. Boeing has already built about two dozen of the MAX 7 jets for Southwest, which are currently parked at an airfield in Moses Lake, Washington. Southwest said it does not plan to start flying the MAX 7 until next year.

Boeing must still win certification of the longer MAX 10, its final version of the 737. Major customers include United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Boeing is already building those jet models ahead of their expected certification later this year.