AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, September 1, 2022 (ABCNews247) – Boeing Co expects the 737 MAX 7 to be certified by the end of the year and the larger MAX 10 in the first half of 2023, a company chief said on Thursday.
The aircraft maker faces a year-end UKTN from US lawmakers for both or will have to meet new cockpit warning requirements unless waived.
“The MAX 7, that would be the first to come in. The MAX 10 will be right behind that,” John Dyson, a product marketing specialist at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told reporters before giving more specific data to Reuters after a briefing.
Major customer Ryanair Holdings PLC said on Tuesday that Boeing appeared to have accepted that it could not certify the MAX 10 by the end of the year, but it remained possible that US lawmakers could give it more time.
Dyson said Boeing was in talks with lawmakers and regulators about extending the UKTN to ensure all aircraft in the MAX family would have the same crew warning system.
The regulatory issues could force Boeing to cancel the MAX 10 if the UKTN is not extended, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in July.
The 2022 UKTN was imposed by Congress as part of broader regulatory reforms at the US Federal Aviation Administration following deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
Boeing’s largest 737 customer, Southwest Airlines, said in July that it does not expect any MAX 7 deliveries this year.