737 MAX-10 FAA Certification Pending

Boeing has announced the sale of 42 737 MAX-10 airliners to WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline and the ninth-largest air-carrier in North America. The deal includes options for an additional 22 jets. The agreement occasions the largest-ever one-time sale of 737-MAX aircraft, and speaks to renewed air-carrier and public faith in the beleaguered family of twin-engine, narrowbody jets.

WestJet Group CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech states: "The 737-10 will be a game changer, with one of the lowest costs-per-seat among mid-range aircraft. This will foster our low-cost positioning and affordability for Canadians. In addition, with its lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions, the 737-10 will further improve the environmental footprint of our fleet."

Since commencing flight operations in 1996 with a meager three 737s, WestJet has grown its Boeing fleet to more than one-hundred airplanes. Including its newly-purchased MAX-10s, the Calgary-based carrier has more than sixty firm orders for 737 MAX family aircraft currently on Boeing’s books.

Boeing commercial airplanes CEO Stan Deal remarks: "The 737-10 will provide WestJet with additional capacity and unrivaled efficiency as the airline expands its network of destinations across Canada and around the world. We are proud that WestJet sees the value of the 737 MAX family and is adding the 737-10 to complement the 737-8 for outstanding capability, flexibility and improved sustainability."

Each 737 MAX-10—by dint of its high-efficiency, CFM International LEAP-1B turbofan engines, slippery aerodynamics, and advanced structural materials—will produce millions fewer pounds of CO2 than the legacy aircraft they are slated to replace.

Seating up to 230 passengers and boasting a nonstop range of 3,100-nautical-miles, the 737 MAX-10 is Boeing's largest and most efficient single-aisle jet. Deliveries of WestJet’s new MAX-10 airliners are scheduled to continue through 2028. Upon addition to the air-carrier’s certificate, the MAX-10s will join 39 737-8 aircraft currently in service with WestJet. The smaller 737-8 carries 178 passengers over a maximum range of 3,500-nautical-miles. Together, the two models will enhance the airline's profitability and sustainability over its short and medium-haul routes.

The 737 MAX-10 has yet to receive FAA certification. Boeing maintains deliveries of the model will begin in 2023, but it remains to be seen whether or not the MAX-10 will be granted exemption from new pilot-alerting requirements mandated by Congress in the wake of two 2019 737 MAX accidents that collectively claimed 346 lives. Boeing’s top management has asserted that the company will cancel the 737 MAX-10 program outright should Congress fail to grant the exemption—a threat belied by resurgent 737 MAX-10 sales.

FMI: www.boeing.com