Thousands of Boeing employees gathered in Renton, Washington on the 22nd of November to watch the largest 737 variant, the 737 MAX 10, be unveiled.
In light of the global 737 MAX grounding, that has been in effect since March, the unveiling was limited to Boeing employees with little fanfare, just like their 777X rollout.
“Today is not just about a new airplane. It’s about the people who design, build and support it. This team’s relentless focus on safety and quality shows the commitment we have to our airline customers and every person who flies on a Boeing airplane.”
Mark Jenks, vice president and general manager of the 737 program
With the rollout now complete, Boeing can launch their 737 MAX 10 ground and flight test campaign; which will likely benefit from a lot of flight test data gathered by other 737 MAX variants during testing.
“I’m honoured to take this airplane on its first flight and show the world what you’ve put your heart and soul into”
737 Chief Pilot Jennifer Henderson told the employee crowd.
Seating up to 230 passengers in a single class layout and having the ability to fly 3,300 nautical miles, the 737 MAX 10 is designed to compete with the Airbus A321neo.
Analysts suggest the aircraft is perfect for airlines wanting a simple extension to their 737 fleets for higher capacity routes, albeit with less flexibility and modification potential than the A321neo. Boeing says the 737 MAX 10 has the lowest seat-mile cost of any single-aisle aircraft ever produced.
United Airlines is the largest customer for the type, with an order for 100 aircraft. Flydubai, Lion Air and VietJet are also high on the list with greater than 50 on order each.
Boeing has over 550 orders and commitments for the 737 MAX 10, from over 20 customers around the world.
It remains unclear when the 737 MAX will be able to resume commercial operations, however Boeing is aiming for the beginning of 2020.
It’s all about the money. Extract the most value and potential out of the product and hope that it catches on in the market. Efficiency is everything then again it’s not. The MAX is not ideal on many levels from a passenger point of view. Cramped seats and ridiculously small lavatories. Until passengers vote with their bottoms manufacturers and the airlines will continue to market inferior comfort, New build technology of the 787 has been around now for about a decade. Should have made over to the Boeing narrowbodies long ago. At the time it was a good business move on Boeing’s part but in hindsight it has now bit them in the posterior big time. Sticking with a 50 year old design, no matter how you dress it up it’s still a 50 year old design. Time for Boeing to let it go.
Boeing is lucky I don’t make aircraft purchasing decisions. I’d be tougher on them than the guy a Qatar.
I hate to say it but the onl airplanes that are worth buying new today are the,
B787
B747 due to its unique freighter capabilities
A350
A220
A321Neo. to a degree
All other types are floating into the obsolescence category.
God help the poor souls who end up on this junk…… a bigger ‘Flying Coffin’, just what is needed! This is 1960’s design with 21st century tech that does not compensate for the huge issues relating to the engine placement. It’s got limited safety fallback and I wouldn’t put a dog on it …. ever. Scrap this bastardisation of an aircraft before any others pay with their lives.
Another variation on the same 60 year old body. Not sure why they made a bigger version of something that’s unsafe to fly because of hardware design flaws. There is a huge risk that when it goes wrong again just more people get killed.