Max 10 approval clears path to deliver 1,555 aircraft amid 777 freighter production disruption
Key Facts
Boeing received Federal Aviation Administration approval for the 737 MAX 10 on October 20, 2026, clearing the way for the aircraft to be produced and delivered to domestic and foreign airlines. The decision removes a regulatory hurdle for a model that more than 30 companies worldwide are waiting to receive, with 1,555 aircraft on order, according to the Associated Press. Those orders account for more than 30% of the total backlog for 737 MAX aircraft. Approval does not mean the aircraft will be delivered immediately; Boeing said in its second-quarter results that it expects the first delivery in 2027. Approval for the model had been expected during 2026 before the agency issued its decision in October.
The Federal Aviation Administration tied approval to improvements related to the Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act and recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. The changes included updates to the flight-control system, including an improved angle-of-attack sensor, which measures the aircraft's pitch relative to the air. These requirements formed part of the approval process for the longest model in the MAX family, while the decision now allows production and delivery to begin after the regulatory conditions have been met. The aircraft typically seats between 185 and 210 passengers, according to Boeing, as cited by the Associated Press. That places the model in the higher-capacity segment of the MAX family, while its accumulated orders await conversion into deliveries.
The approval comes alongside an improvement in Boeing's quarterly figures. Revenue reached $24.560 billion in the second quarter of 2026, compared with $22.749 billion in the same period of 2025, an annual increase of 8%. The company also delivered 171 commercial aircraft during the quarter, compared with 150 a year earlier, an increase of 14%. Boeing said its backlog reached a record $715 billion at the end of the second quarter and included more than 6,200 commercial aircraft. These figures combine improving revenue and deliveries with a large volume of orders that have not yet generated revenue through delivery. Within that backlog, MAX 10 orders account for more than 30% of the 737 MAX family's backlog, according to the Associated Press.
But Boeing's widebody aircraft program faces operational pressure. Reuters reported on October 23 that a dispute with supplier Vaupell halted 777 freighter production for nearly two months and also disrupted production of 767 aircraft, including freighters and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers. According to a Boeing court complaint reviewed by Reuters, the company alleged that Vaupell stopped supplying a set of wing trailing-edge ribs. The complaint said the disruption was costing Boeing up to $6.5 million a day in August. That is a maximum cost cited in the company's allegation, not an independent estimate of realized losses. The two companies reached a settlement in late September, but three Boeing workers told Reuters that 777 freighter production had not resumed as of October 23.
The effects of the parts shortage were visible on the assembly line: Boeing removed two partially assembled 777 freighters from the final assembly line, according to a company worker cited by Reuters. Boeing delivered 5 777 aircraft in the third quarter of 2026, bringing total program deliveries since the start of the year to 20 aircraft, according to company data. On September 30, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines announced an order for two 777 freighters and eight new-generation 777-8 freighters. The order highlights continued demand for freighters as current production faces disruption. Boeing says the 777 freighter can carry a maximum structural payload of 107 tonnes for up to 5,000 nautical miles at that payload.
In the narrowbody program, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said on September 16 that the company was working toward a production rate of 47 737 aircraft a month but had not yet stabilized at that rate. He said: "We are working to reach 47 aircraft a month, but we have not yet stabilized at that rate." The comment puts production pace in the context of the challenge of turning the backlog into delivered aircraft, as the MAX 10 begins its path following approval. Boeing had maintained in its second-quarter results its expectation of approval for the model in 2026 and a first delivery in 2027. Following approval on October 20, the first delivery, expected in 2027, remains the company's next announced milestone.