Boeing Expects FAA Will Certify Model by Year’s End

Boeing and Southwest Airlines have entered into an agreement by which the Dallas, Texas-based air-carrier will acquire 108 new 737 MAX-7 narrow-body jets. Southwest’s selection of the fuel-efficient aircraft is consistent with the airline’s modernization strategy and affords the carrier flexibility by which to expand its fleet and route structure.

Southwest Airlines president and CEO Bob Jordan set forth: "We have a long history with Boeing, dating back more than fifty-years to the day we commenced service with three Boeing 737 aircraft serving three cities. They're part of our history and part of our future as we continue to recognize the many efficiencies and cost savings of a single fleet."

Mr. Jordan added: “We’ve got a new fleet plan that is very orderly. It takes us through 2031 at very attractive pricing and there is a lot of flexibility in the new order book. So we can flex up and we can flex down as you see demand trends changing both ways.”

An all-Boeing air-carrier, Southwest, since its 1967 founding, has placed north of three-hundred orders for the plane-maker’s perennial 737-family aircraft, growing its orderbook to more than five-hundred 737 MAX jets. Upon its certification—which Boeing continues to expect by 2023’s end—the 737 MAX-7 will take up its place in Southwest’s fleet.

Southwest CFO Tammy Romo stated: “We now expect to receive 85 (737 Max)-8s this year and plan to retire 41 (737)-700s. This leaves our net expected increase of 44 aircraft unchanged from our previous guidance.”

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal remarked: "With the world's largest all-Boeing, all-737 fleet, Southwest is counting on the exceptional efficiency and reliability of the 737 MAX family. The 737 MAX-7 is pivotal to Southwest's long-term fleet modernization strategy, and we are honored to have the airline's continued trust in us to deliver its future fleet."

In addition to standardized training—all members of the Boeing 737 family, to include the Original, Classic, Next Generation, and MAX series, share the same pilot type rating—the 737 MAX family affords air-carriers fuel-efficiency, ecological accountability, reliability, flexibility, and operational economy beyond that of legacy narrow-body airliners. The 737 MAX-7’s 3,800-nautical-mile range exceeds that of its predecessor, the 737 Next Generation (NG) series, by nearly 759-nautical-miles—the distance by which Chicago and Jacksonville, Florida are separated. The MAX-7’s superior range is attributable, in part, to an eldritch combination of fuel-efficient CFM LEAP 1-B engines and advanced aerodynamics that cuts fuel-burn (relative the NG series) by twenty-percent. The 737 MAX-7 is capable of carrying up to 172 passengers, and is quieter than legacy 737s.

The smallest model in the 737 MAX family, the MAX-7, to date, has racked up 286 orders—nearly two-thirds of which are slated to be decked out in Southwest Airlines livery.

FMI: www.boeing.com