FAA clears smallest Boeing 737 Max to fly after years of delays

The Federal Aviation Administration has certified the Boeing 737 Max 7, the smallest model in the bestselling family of aircraft, after nearly a decade of delays for safety reviews.

Carriers including Southwest Airlines expected to fly the plane before the pandemic, but increased regulatory scrutiny following the fatal crashes of the in-service Max 8, in 2018 and 2019, other safety and manufacturing crises, and the redesign of an engine anti-icing system delayed certification.

The agency on Monday said the approval “reflects years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues and complete a thorough review of the airplane’s design and supporting safety analyses.”

Boeing stock rose roughly 8% in afternoon trading Monday.

Airlines can finally start flying passengers soon after planes are certified, but it can take them months to work them into schedules.

The already-built Max 7 planes for Southwest, which make up the bulk of the Max 7s in inventory, will need to be outfitted with the carrier’s new extra legroom seats. Southwest won’t likely start flying the planes until next year.

“This important certification validates the rigor of our airplane’s design and recognizes the determination and resilience of our 737 MAX development team,” Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement. 

The FAA said it required other changes to the plane beyond the redesign of the engine anti-ice system, including to the flight control software and crew alerting system.

Boeing is also awaiting certification from the FAA of another long-delayed model, the 737 Max 10, which is the largest in the family and one that some carriers expected to start flying in 2020 as well as the manufacturer’s largest plane, the 777X.

The plane maker has about 40 of the 737 Max 7s and 737 Max 10s built and in inventory already, and the FAA approval could help the manufacturer bring in much-needed cash, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a note Sunday. Boeing and other manufacturers receive the bulk of an airplane’s price when they hand it over to customers.

The manufacturer, a top U.S. exporter, has been working to ramp up production of its 737 Maxes and 787 Dreamliners, key to its recovery after years of crisis since airlines and other customers pay the bulk of the aircraft’s price upon delivery. Boeing opened a fourth production line in Everett, Washington, in July for its 737 Max airplanes.

The company has been working to win back the trust of the FAA, and has made strides, including in mid-July, when the FAA said it could once again issue airworthiness certificates for its bestselling 737 Max aircraft and 787 Dreamliners. The agency stripped that from Boeing after the Max 8 crashes, which killed 346 people.

— CNBC’s Michele Luhn contributed to this report.