When did the Boeing 737 MAX come out?

Short answer

The Boeing 737 MAX was announced in August 2011, first flew on January 29, 2016, received FAA certification in March 2017 and entered service on May 22, 2017 with Malindo Air. After two fatal crashes, it was grounded worldwide from March 2019 until the FAA cleared its return in November 2020.

Published: September 21, 2026 · Updated: September 21, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

West Jet Boeing 737 MAX8C GZSG YYC November 2018Johnnyw3 (CC BY SA), vía commons

From announcement to first flight

Boeing announced the 737 MAX on August 30, 2011, in response to the Airbus A320neo, unveiled a year earlier. Rather than designing a new aircraft, it chose to re-engine the 737 Next Generation with the larger, more efficient CFM International LEAP-1B engines, add split-tip winglets and redesign part of the tail and avionics. American Airlines and Southwest were the first major customers. The first 737 MAX 8 rolled out of the Renton factory in December 2015 and made its maiden flight on January 29, 2016.

Certification and entry into service

The FAA certified the MAX 8 on March 8, 2017, and the first delivery went to Malindo Air, Lion Air's Malaysian subsidiary, which put it into service on May 22, 2017. The MAX 9 followed in 2018. The family was launched with four lengths, MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 9 and MAX 10, covering roughly 140 to 230 seats. Boeing promised about 14% lower fuel burn per seat than the 737-800, and the order book passed 4,000 before the first aircraft was even delivered.

Grounding and return

The Lion Air 610 (October 2018) and Ethiopian Airlines 302 (March 2019) crashes, which killed 346 people, exposed the behavior of the MCAS system, which acted on the stabilizer based on a single angle-of-attack sensor. On March 13, 2019, the entire worldwide fleet was grounded. After redesigning the software, the alert logic and pilot training, the FAA lifted the ban on November 18, 2020; EASA did so in January 2021, and the type resumed flying in China in early 2023. The MAX 7 and MAX 10 variants, the shortest and longest in the family, have accumulated years of certification delays.