Boeing 737 MAX 10

The 737 MAX 10 grew out of pressure from loyal Boeing customers such as Korean Air and United Airlines, who wanted an aircraft larger than the MAX 9 to compete with the Airbus A321neo. Boeing revealed its studies in early 2016, at a time when the A321neo had outsold the MAX 9 five-to-one. The first concept, in mid-2016, featured larger engines, stronger wings and a telescoping landing gear. In September 2016 it emerged that the variant would be simpler and lower-risk: a modest stretch of 6–7 feet (1.83–2.13 m) to 143–144 ft (43.6–43.9 m), 12 to 18 more seats, an uprated 31,000 pounds-force (140 kN) LEAP-1B, and a landing-gear change to move the rotation point slightly aft.

In October 2016 Boeing's board of directors granted authority to offer the stretched variant, with two extra fuselage sections forward and aft and a 3,100 nautical mile (5,700 km) range, reduced from the 3,300 nmi (6,100 km) of the MAX 9. In early 2017 Boeing showed the final configuration: a 66-inch (1.7 m) stretch to 143 ft (44 m), seating 230 in a single class or 189 in two classes, compared with 193 two-class seats in the A321neo. The modest stretch allowed the MAX 10 to keep the existing wing and the CFM LEAP-1B engine of the MAX 9, with a trailing-link main landing gear as the only major change. Boeing predicted a 5% lower trip cost and seat cost than the A321neo. Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX, said the design had to be frozen in 2018 for a 2020 introduction.

Lessors reacted in different ways: Air Lease Corporation chief executive John Pleuger wanted the aircraft a year sooner, while AerCap's Aengus Kelly cautioned that the -9 and -10 "will cannibalize each other". The MAX 10 was launched on June 19, 2017, at the Paris Air Show, with 240 orders and commitments from more than ten customers; United Airlines became the largest customer by converting 100 of its 161 MAX 9 orders. Boeing left that show with 361 orders and commitments, including 214 conversions, from 16 customers, among them 50 orders from Lion Air.

The configuration was firmed up by February 2018 and the critical design review was completed by mid-2018; by August 2018 assembly of the first aircraft was under way. Its signature engineering feature is the semi-levered main landing gear: a telescoping oleo-pneumatic strut with a down-swinging lever that makes the gear 9.5 inches (24 cm) taller. A shrink-link mechanism at the top of the leg, inspired by carrier aircraft designs, shortens the strut as it retracts so that it fits the existing wheel well and uses the existing retraction system.

The first MAX 10 was unveiled to employees at Boeing's Renton factory in Washington on November 22, 2019. At that point 531 MAX 10s were on order, against 3142 Airbus A321neos sold; the MAX 10 offers a capacity similar to the A321XLR but a shorter range and much poorer field performance, which limits its use at smaller airports. It made its maiden flight on June 18, 2021, opening its flight test and certification program. On June 29, 2021, United ordered another 150 to replace many of its Boeing 757-200s. Ryanair failed to agree terms in September 2021, citing cost, but in May 2023 it ordered 150 MAX 10s with options on a further 150.

Certification turned into a long saga. After the MAX accidents, the Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act of 2020 required an engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) on airliners certificated after December 31, 2022. In December 2022 Congress allowed the MAX 7 and MAX 10 to be certified without it, but required a third angle-of-attack sensor on all MAX types and a switch to disable the stick shaker, to be retrofitted to delivered aircraft within three years of MAX 10 certification. An engine anti-ice problem announced in August 2023 added to the delay; Boeing completed the redesign in November 2025, and in January 2025 it had requested another exemption for the stall management yaw damper. The delays upset the plans of United, which said in January 2024 that it was planning its fleet without the MAX 10 and held talks with Airbus about more A321neos, and of Delta, which in October 2024 expected its first MAX 10s in 2026.

In November 2025 certification slipped into 2026; WestJet became the planned launch customer, with deliveries from 2027, and United expects to start flying the type in the first half of 2027. After the MAX 7 was certified on August 3, 2026, the MAX 10 remained the last MAX variant awaiting certification.