Boeing 737 Max 10 wins US approval after six years of delays

Picture a plane that was meant to start flying in 2020. Six years later, it was still waiting for a yes. On 20 October 2026, that wait finally ended. The US air safety regulator approved the Boeing 737 Max 10, the biggest plane in Boeing's 737 Max family.

The jet was set to start flying in 2020, says CNBC. Now Boeing says it can start handing it to airlines in the coming months. Here is what the approval means, why it took so long, and why an Indian airline is waiting for this plane too.

First, what is a "certification"?

Think of it like a driving licence, but for a plane design. Before you can drive on the road, you must pass a test. Before a new kind of plane can carry passengers, its maker must prove to the regulator that the design is safe.

A regulator is a government body that sets the rules and checks that companies follow them. In the US, that body is the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. Its approval is called a "type certificate". It says this type of plane, built this way, is fit to fly.

Boeing did not get a brand new certificate. It got an amended type certificate, says Leeham News. That makes sense, because the Max 10 is a longer version of planes that already fly. Boeing also got an updated record that allows it to build the plane in its factory.

FAA chief Bryan Bedford said the decision "follows a thorough review of the aircraft's design and safety requirements", Mint reported.

Two panels: the old plan to fly in 2020, and FAA approval on 20 October 2026 — The Max 10 was meant to fly in 2020. It got its approval in October 2026.

Why did it take so many years?

The short answer: two deadly crashes and a lot of extra checking.

Two 737 Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019. After that, regulators looked at every Max plane much more closely. CNBC says engineering changes were also needed, including to an anti-icing system for the engines. That system stops ice from building up, a bit like a car's demister clears a foggy windscreen.

The rules also got tougher. Boeing says the Max 10 is the first commercial plane certified under the full 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. That US law asks plane makers to write down their safety checks in much more detail.

There was one last bump. Boeing disclosed a software glitch in the plane's navigation system. An FAA panel decided it was not a safety risk, so the approval went ahead.

The Max 10 also comes with a new safety feature. Leeham News says an enhanced Angle of Attack system will now go on all new Max jets. This system uses sensors that tell the plane at what angle its wings are meeting the air. A faulty sensor of this kind played a part in both crashes, which is why lawmakers asked for a stronger setup.

How big is this plane?

The Max 10 is a "single-aisle" plane. That means one walkway down the middle, with seats on both sides, like the planes on many short trips.

Boeing says it usually carries one hundred and eighty five to 210 passengers with two classes of seats. It can fly up to 3,100 nautical miles, or 5,740 km. If an airline squeezes in more seats, it can hold as many as 230 people.

More seats on one flight is like a bigger bus on the same route: more people travel on each trip. Boeing's Stephanie Pope said the plane offers "the best seat economics in its class". Seat economics simply means how cheap it is to fly each seat.

A counter rising to 230 seats with bars growing beside it — At most 230 seats, though airlines usually fit fewer.

Why does Boeing need this plane so badly?

Money. Airlines pay the bulk of a plane's price on delivery, says CNBC. So a plane stuck waiting for approval is like a samosa stall that has taken orders but cannot hand over the samosas. The cash only comes in once the plate goes out.

And the orders are huge. Boeing says more than 30 airlines have bought the Max 10, with 1,555 planes ordered so far. That is more than 30% of the 737 Max planes still waiting to be built.

An "order book" is the list of planes customers have ordered but not yet received. For the whole 737 Max family, customers have ordered 7,350 planes. Nearly 2,500 of those were delivered by the end of September 2026.

Bars comparing 7,350 total 737 Max orders, about 2,500 delivered, and 1,555 Max 10 orders — Boeing's own numbers for its 737 Max family.

Mint adds that the Max 10, along with the other Max models, will help Boeing repair its balance sheet and cut its debt. A balance sheet is a list of what a company owns and what it owes.

The rival it is chasing: Airbus A321neo

Every big rivalry needs two players, like India and Australia in cricket. In planes, it is Boeing of the US and Airbus of Europe. The Max 10 is Boeing's answer to the Airbus A321neo, a single-aisle plane of a similar size.

While the Max 10 waited, the A321neo kept flying and selling. Leeham News says Boeing now has a plane it can actually deliver against the A321neo. It also says Airbus still holds a lead in this market that Boeing will find hard to catch.

Watch on YouTube

Where does India come in?

Indian low-cost airline Akasa Air is one of the buyers. At the Wings India 2024 air show in Hyderabad, it ordered 150 more Boeing 737 Max planes. That order includes the 737 Max 10, along with another Max model. Deliveries from the order run until 2032.

That order took Akasa's total order book to 226 planes, says the same report.

Before any Max 10 flies in other countries, local regulators also need to give their own approval. A Boeing executive said Canada and Europe may finish theirs in "probably a couple months".

What happens next?

Boeing will start delivering the plane in the coming months. Leeham News says deliveries are expected to start early next year, with Canada's WestJet as the launch customer, the first airline to get it.

Even then, it is not instant. CNBC notes it can take months for airlines to fit new planes into their schedules. The Max 10 also completes the family. The smallest model, the Max 7, got its approval in early August.

Watch on YouTube

The big lesson

A great product is only half the job. In flying, you also need the regulator's yes, and that can take years. For Boeing, the yes has finally come. Now the race is about building and delivering planes fast enough to win back airlines from Airbus.

Sources

You may republish this story under CC BY 4.0: credit Arshdeep Singh and link to this page.