FAA Grants Amended Type Certificate for Boeing 737-7, Clearing Path for Southwest Deliveries

Boeing said Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted an amended type certificate for the 737-7, clearing the smallest 737 MAX variant for commercial service after years of delay.

The milestone is immediately important for Boeing and its airline customers because it opens the way for first deliveries of the jet, with Southwest Airlines set to be the launch customer. Boeing said the two companies are preparing for those first handovers. An amended type certificate is FAA approval of the aircraft’s type design, though each airplane still must move through normal production checks and receive an airworthiness certificate before it can be delivered.

Boeing also said the FAA updated Boeing Production Certificate No. 700 to include the 737-7. In Boeing’s Aug. 3 press release, Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said, “This important certification validates the rigor of our airplane’s design and recognizes the determination and resilience of our 737 MAX development team.”

According to Boeing, the 737-7 certification program began in 2018 and included more than 1,000 hours of flight and ground testing, along with system safety and human-factors work. Boeing said the aircraft incorporates an updated engine anti-ice system to address a potential condition discovered during flight testing. Work on that system had slowed certification.

Boeing describes the 737-7 as the smallest and longest-range member of the 737 MAX family, with typical two-class seating for 135 to 160 passengers and a range of up to about 3,800 nautical miles, or 7,040 kilometers. That gives airlines a version of the MAX aimed at routes that need fewer seats than larger variants while still offering long reach.

The certification carries extra weight because the 737 MAX program has faced years of heightened scrutiny since the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes involving MAX 8 aircraft. Those accidents led to a global grounding and a broader reexamination of Boeing’s certification and safety processes, making every subsequent MAX approval more closely watched by regulators, airlines and investors.

A separate FAA decision last month also matters for the 737-7’s path into airline fleets. On July 17, the agency said it would again allow Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for newly built 737 MAX and 787 aircraft starting July 20 after a months-long safety review. Those certificates are the final regulatory step for newly built airplanes before delivery, so that change removes another obstacle as Boeing works toward handing over 737-7s.

The certification also has broader commercial significance for Boeing’s narrowbody business. Boeing said the 737 MAX family had an order book of more than 7,200 airplanes and that more than 2,300 had been delivered through the end of June 2026. With the 737-7 now certified, Boeing can begin adding a new MAX variant to that delivery stream as airlines, especially Southwest, prepare to put it into service.