The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just certified the Boeing 737 MAX 7, which is the smallest variant of the 737 MAX family. This is a development that Southwest Airlines has been anticipating for years, but that’s about the only airline that cares.
In this post:
Boeing 737 MAX 7 finally cleared to fly passengers
The FAA has just issued an amended type certificate and updated Production Limitation Record for the Boeing 737 MAX 7. The initial hope was for this to be issued in 2019, so we’re only around seven years behind schedule. Here’s how the FAA describes this approval:
The approval reflects years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues and complete a thorough review of the airplane’s design and supporting safety analyses. Throughout the process, the FAA performed or directly reviewed significant work involving flight controls, system safety assessments, human factors, flightcrew alerting, and other novel, complex, or safety-critical areas, while also requiring testing, design changes, and additional analysis where necessary.
Before granting approval, the FAA required the MAX-7 to incorporate key improvements that address requirements in the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act and NTSB recommendations, including updates to the flight-control software, flightcrew alerting system, and a redesigned engine anti-ice system. These changes provide pilots clearer information and warnings and prevent the engine inlet from overheating and potentially weakening the surrounding structure.
This is a huge and much needed win for Boeing, which has obviously been struggling in recent years, particularly with new aircraft certification. The 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9 have been certified for years, while the expectation is that the 737 MAX 10 will be certified in the coming months.
For those not familiar, the 737 MAX 7 is the smallest and longest range variant of the four planes. It can seat 135-160 passengers, with a range of up to 3,800 nautical miles.
The 737 MAX 7 is a plane designed for Southwest
Boeing 737 MAX 7 deliveries should be able to start soon, and there’s really only one airline that has committed to a meaningful number of these planes. Southwest has 269 737 MAX 7s on order, which will feature 150 seats.
This has been a key component in Southwest’s fleet renewal strategy for years. The 737 MAX 7 is the updated version of the 737-700, and the airline has 288 of these planes in its fleet. So Southwest is basically planning a 1:1 fleet renewal, and who knows, maybe we’ll see even more of the planes ordered.
I’ve always found it interesting how Southwest is an all-Boeing 737 operator, but is exclusively focused on the two smaller variants of the plane. The airline never picked up the 737-900, and also never ordered the 737 MAX 9 or 737 MAX 10.
The way to think about it is that the larger variants add capacity but reduce range. What’s so great about the bigger variants is that their incremental operating costs are so low, so you’re able to add quite a few seats without much additional expense, assuming you don’t need the range.
The question is always whether you can fill those seats profitably. After all, flying around empty seats doesn’t exactly help anyone. I totally understand Southwest’s desire for having a smaller aircraft type for markets without a huge amount of demand. But I also find it interesting how the airline has had no interest in larger variants, since you’d think there are lots of markets where the economics would work.
It’s quite telling that literally no other airline has ordered a substantial number of 737 MAX 7s, so this plane is very much to Southwest as the Airbus A380 was to Emirates. Other airlines are focused on the larger 737 MAX variants, and the more popular 737 MAX 8 sized plane is the Airbus A220-300.
Bottom line
The Boeing 737 MAX 7 has finally been certified, roughly seven years behind schedule. Obviously Boeing’s certification woes have been really rough in recent years, so this is great new for the plane maker. The 737 MAX 7 is the smallest but longest range version of the 737 family, so it has a unique niche.
However, only Southwest actually sees value with the plane, given that it has hundreds on order, while no other airlines have committed to a substantial number of these planes.
What do you make of this 737 MAX 7 certification?
"the more popular 737 MAX 8 sized plane is the Airbus A220-300"?
Do you mean the MAX 7?
MAX 8 ~170p
MAX 7 ~138p
A223 ~140p
MDW-HNL is under just under 3800 NM as is MDW to Great Britain, France, and Spain.....
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737...
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737 models to avoid the cost & complexity that would arise from having a model that cannot be reliably scheduled into one of its largest…hubs.
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737...
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737 models to avoid the cost & complexity that would arise from having a model that cannot be reliably scheduled into one of its largest…hubs.
that is part of it but the bigger issue is that WN, without a first class cabin, puts more seats on the same size airframe than the legacies.
WN's 737MAX 7s are supposed to have just under 150 seats, IIRC, which is about what the big 3 had on their A320s/737-800s before they were remodeled and about 5-10 seats less after the remodel.
WN's 738s/MAX8s have as many seats as other airlines have on their...
that is part of it but the bigger issue is that WN, without a first class cabin, puts more seats on the same size airframe than the legacies.
WN's 737MAX 7s are supposed to have just under 150 seats, IIRC, which is about what the big 3 had on their A320s/737-800s before they were remodeled and about 5-10 seats less after the remodel.
WN's 738s/MAX8s have as many seats as other airlines have on their 900ERs/MAX 9s.
It just doesn't take as big of a plane to carry as many passengers; because WN has no regional jets, they aren't interested in having a high average seat count. Their average number of seats per flight are already higher than the rest of the big 4.
of course, if WN decides to add a first class cabin, all of this will change.
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737...
Isn’t the reason Southwest eschews the larger 737-9/-10 models because they’re subject to payload restrictions at Chicago Midway (MDW) due to that airport’s short runways, with the longest being 6,500 feet.
One of the drawbacks of the -9 & -10 737 models is that their performance for take-off runs can be long when fully loaded, especially during warm weather.
So, Southwest, to date, has refrained from ordering either of the two (2) larger capacity 737 models to avoid the cost & complexity that would arise from having a model that cannot be reliably scheduled into one of its largest…hubs.
Apologies for the duplicate post.
Page seemed to freeze during uploading, so hit the “post” box twice.
Ben, please feel free to delete one of the duplicates!
Thanks so much.
I’m pleased. Good for Boeing and good for WN. Hope to see these at BUR (Burbank Hollywood Glendale Pasadena North Los Angeles South Valencia West Van Nuys Bob Hope) Airport in the coming months, although it is ironic that in a matter of ~2 months Southwest won’t be as restricted from flying the -800/8MAX there.
Yowzers!
I can't post unless "I want to stay connected with the latest travel, aviation, and credit card news."
"!! Yowzers!" indeed! (So fun, Ben. So fun.)
The MAX10 is right around the corner.
And, let's see, who has orders for the MAX10... United 277, Ryanair 150, American 115, Alaska 105, Delta 100.
And what's this yozwers on the website?! Wasn't yozwers your description of the huge shrimp on the salad you had on Cathay Pacific from New York-Vancouver years ago?! I even remember one of the cabin crew kept calling you "hun" and you genuinely loved her! Haha
Oh! Hey! That IS new! “!! Yowzers!” What about a “Wowza!” or a “Yikes” and an “Oof” …bah!
I prefer "Howzat"
A little surprised Alaska isn't ordering any to replace its B717s on Hawaiian's inter-island routes. Apparently they're going for some refreshed 737-800s instead. I think the choice of NGs for inter-island over MAX has something to do with the engines - apparently the CFM-LEAP's aren't well-suited to short hops with lots of start-up and shut-down cycles per day.
Or maybe Alaska still will buy some Max-7s (or E-jets), and the shift to 737-800s is more...
A little surprised Alaska isn't ordering any to replace its B717s on Hawaiian's inter-island routes. Apparently they're going for some refreshed 737-800s instead. I think the choice of NGs for inter-island over MAX has something to do with the engines - apparently the CFM-LEAP's aren't well-suited to short hops with lots of start-up and shut-down cycles per day.
Or maybe Alaska still will buy some Max-7s (or E-jets), and the shift to 737-800s is more of a stopgap given the long order backlog for new jets.
They can run the 737-800 into the ground like an old car on the inter island routes for awhile. It’s too bad the max-7 isn’t as well suited for short hops. I bet Alaska uses the 800’s until the max-7 works out the engine issues or orders a mix of e-series.
It’s amazing what a well-placed bribe --ergh-- donation to the Transportation Secretary can do!
Actually don't be surprised if you see Ethiopian place an order for these imminently as a replacement / upgrade for their sizeable Dash8 fleet.
I'm not sure that Mesfin has said this publicly (but he has said it privately) that the reason they have deferred that decision for so long is that they didn't have faith in the PW GTF engines that power both the A220 and E2 options, and Boeing was dragging its feet...
Actually don't be surprised if you see Ethiopian place an order for these imminently as a replacement / upgrade for their sizeable Dash8 fleet.
I'm not sure that Mesfin has said this publicly (but he has said it privately) that the reason they have deferred that decision for so long is that they didn't have faith in the PW GTF engines that power both the A220 and E2 options, and Boeing was dragging its feet on the Max7 certification. Now that the Max7 is in play (and USG is pushing heavily for US contractor involvement in the Bishoftu project), there will almost certainly be an attractive EXIM package accompanying the Boeing pitch.
That decision will likely come down to whether Brazilian EXIM financing for a fellow BRICS member Ethiopia on the E2 can outstrip the US EXIM financing package for the Max7 and the Canadian financing for the A220. The smart money has shifted to Boeing after today, for an order of probably around 40-50 units (maybe not all at once, but progressively).
“ The FAA has just issued an amended type certificate and updated Production Limitation Record for the Boeing 737 MAX 7”
I thought Boeing were certifying their own aircraft this week?
Can't wait to ride in one to the waffle house in Hollow , West Virginia .
Can’t wait to ride one of these bad boys from BWI to LTN
Interesting tone to this article, it's almost like there's a belief that given the Boeing of the last few years, it's become cool to advocate against them.
Then again, no doubt this crowd is big into calling for the development of a NMA and critiquing the prolonged certification process.
No room for praise for a American produced product being completed?
Oh no… Tim’s sock puppet account is back. *smh* Bud, you can walk and chew gum at the same time; you can hold corporate malfeasance accountable and also hope for a reformed, better American company. Multiple things can be true. Anyway, enjoy your attempt at a false dilemma.
Please mansplain more daddy.
(That was pretty good.)
“Great News for…No One Else”
Yah more glib than gist.
No, I’d say it’s also great news for Boeing employees and investors…and for US aviation to have a thriving competitor. And for the FAA to have restored confidence. Does that mean there weren’t serious problems? No. But not a good look to diminish this accomplishment.
certification of the MAX 7 was always supposed to be before the MAX 10 so certification of the MAX 7 is good news not only for all of the airlines that have the MAX 10 on order but also the US economy since the MAX 10 will be exported along w/ domestic sales.
certification, production, and delivery of 2 more MAX models this year will allow a number of airlines to accelerate retirement of older aircraft
So, you’re saying… this is good for Delta?
Since DL snaps up any old clapped-out airliner it can get its hands on and never buys new from Boeing (those MAX 10s will never be delivered), this is good news for DL, but Timbits will never express it directly because it makes DL look like the cheap bastards they are.
the one time that he does not go into a delta rant, you freaks try to goad him into it then complain when he does
Oh, NOLA, please… don’t be naive… Delta’s ordering the Max10, so while he didn’t literally say it, that was the entire subtext.
You are correct. There is a well-known bunch of similarly deranged commenters on this article that spend more time thinking about Tim than anything else and will freak out when you call them out about it.
They'll DARVO and you accuse you of being a sock puppet for Tim with zero evidence. See above with NickW, already idiots like 1990 flocking to make baseless assertions that somehow that's an alt account.
Julie, that sure sounds like something a sock puppet would say… *cough*
"You are correct. There is a well-known bunch of similarly deranged commenters on this article that spend more time thinking about Tim than anything else and will freak out when you call them out about it."
weird, "Julie". Like you posting under other's usernames or, rather, like you sing the same song and tune under multiple usernames?
I’m impressed; I mean, it took forever, but, like, that this certification actually happened. Enjoy the win, WN! (Looks at United’s 737-700.)
Allegiant has some MAX 7s on order too. They’ll get good use out of them in Key West with the short runway there- I imagine that might be the only reason they ordered them
I think Allegiant converted the 24 (max 7) orders to max 8- 200. But maybe they will rethink now that the max 7 is in production. They still have 28 aging A319's to replace. It will be interesting to see what they decide.
Now let's get the 777X certified, shall we?!
FAA probably: “But I am le tired…”
Well, take a nap, then certify the 777X!