The Boeing 737 MAX is once again back in the spotlight, following an incident with an Alaska 737 MAX 9 at the beginning of the year. Regulators have made it clear that they’re now investigating Boeing, and this will fundamentally change the relationship between Boeing and regulators.
While the most immediate question is when the 737 MAX 9 will reenter service (which has the biggest implications for Alaska and United), it’s worth keeping in mind that the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 haven’t yet been certified, and this latest issue will almost certainly push back the timeline further (which has the biggest implications for Southwest and United, respectively).
United Airlines building plan without 737 MAX 10
United Airlines is Boeing’s biggest customer, and the airline has hundreds of Boeing 737 MAXs on order. In addition to the 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9 (which are already in service), the airline also has 150 737 MAX 10s on order. This is the largest variant of the aircraft,…