The Boeing 737 MAX is a new family of Boeing 737. It is made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. These airplanes replace the Boeing 737 Next Generation family. It is the fourth family of 737. The biggest change is the engines.  The 737 MAX has new, better CFM International LEAP-1B engines.  The outside of the plane also got changes. The very first 737 MAX was delivered in 2017, 50 years after the first Boeing 737 took off. Boeing had 1,285 orders for the 737 MAX as of May 14, 2013. Larger and smaller versions have different capacity and range.

After two fatal crashes of MAX 8 aircraft in October 2018 and March 2019, regulatory authorities around the world ordered airlines to stop using MAX 8 and MAX 9 airplanes until the reason for the crashes is found. Boeing stopped making them for a few months in early 2020, and resumed at a slow rate. Various regulatory authorities authorized a return to service in December 2020 and January 2021.

Development

Since 2006, Boeing has been thinking about replacing the 737 with a completely new design.

In 2010, Airbus said it was making the Airbus A320neo family, which is an improved version of the Airbus A320 family. Airlines started ordering a lot of A320neos. AirAsia and IndiGo are examples. This made Boeing's managers allow the 737 MAX to be developed on August 30, 2011. Boeing said that the 737 MAX will use 16% less fuel than the Airbus A320 and 4% less than the Airbus A320neo. Boeing thinks the 737 MAX will be able to fly farther than Airbus A320neo. The first 737 MAX aircraft is supposed to be delivered in 2017.

The 737 MAX only has three types. They are the 737 MAX 7, 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9. The 737 MAX 7 will replace the 737-700, the 737 MAX 8 will replace the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 9 will replace the 737-900ER. The -700, -800 and -900ER sold the most out of the 737 Next Generation family.

At first, Boeing would not say which airlines had ordered 737 MAX planes (except American Airlines). On November 17, 2011, Boeing said that nine airlines had ordered 700 planes. On December 13, 2011, Southwest Airlines said they had ordered 150 aircraft. In December 2011, Boeing had 948 orders from 13 airlines.

In January 2012, Norwegian Air Shuttle said it had ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes. This is the first 737 MAX order from Europe. In July 2012, Virgin Australia said it would buy 23 MAX aircraft. Later that month, Air Lease Corporation (ALC) said it would buy 75 MAX aircraft.  On July 12, 2012 United Airlines said it would order 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 and 50 737-900ER aircraft. This entire order costs $14.8 billion.

In late July 2012, Aeromexico said it would buy 90 737 MAX 8 aircraft. In August 2012, Silk Air said it would order 31 737 MAX 8 and 23 737-800 aircraft. In September 2012, Avolon said it had ordered 10 737 MAX 8s, 5 737 MAX 9s and 10 737-800s.

On October 1, 2012, Gol Transportes Aéreos said it has ordered 60 737 MAX 8s. On October 3, GECAS ordered 75 737 MAX 8s and 10 737-800s. On the same day, 22 Boeing 737 MAX 8s were ordered. The airline who ordered these planes is not known. On October 11, 2012, Alaska Airlines ordered 50 Boeing 737s, 20 737 MAX 8, 17 737 MAX 9, and 13 Boeing 737-900ERs.

On November 4, 2012, ALAFCO ordered 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. On November 5, 2012, Aeromexico bought 90 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 9s.

On December 6, 2012, Icelandair bought 12 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (8 MAX 8s, and 4 MAX 9s).

On January 2, 2013, Aviation Capital Group (ACG) bought 60 737 MAX aircraft. 50 of them are the MAX 8. 10 are the MAX 9. This order has the 1,000th order in it.

On February 7, 2013, American Airlines said it would definitely buy 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8s.  On February 13, 2012, Icelandair made its order bigger. They have now bought 16 aircraft (9 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and 7 Boeing 737 MAX 9s).

On May 14, 2013, Turkish Airlines ordered 50 737 MAX aircraft (40 MAX 8s, 10 MAX 9s).

Design
Boeing spent a lot of 2011 looking at two different diameters of CFM International LEAP-1B engine:  or . Both of these would mean that Boeing would have to make some changes to the wheels, because the engines need to be  above the ground. Boeing said the bigger engine would use less fuel. However, because it is bigger, it would make more drag and be heavier. This would mean that even more changes would be needed.

Both engines are bigger than the  CFM56-7B engines on the Boeing 737 Next Generation. The new engine will use 10–12% less fuel than the engines on the 737NG. It has been said that Boeing are looking at parts of the plane that can be changed to make less drag and burn less fuel.

In November 2011, Boeing said it would use the  diameter engine. The landing gear will need to be made longer by 6–8 inches (15–20 cm). This is to make sure the engines stay above the ground. Boeing will probably say exactly what the 737 MAX looks like sometime in 2013. On May 17, 2012, Boeing said the engine's diameter had been made bigger. This means it is now 69.4 inches (176 cm).

The 737 MAX will have the Boeing Sky Interior. The Boeing Sky Interior is like the cabin of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 737 MAX will also have winglets.

The winglets used on the 737 MAX will be different to the winglets on the 737NG. Boeing says the new winglets will help the plane use 1.5% less fuel.

Boeing does not want to change the cockpit because they want it to be similar to the cockpit on the 737NG. Boeing also wants to add some more fly-by-wire to the 737 MAX. However, Boeing said that changes will be "very minimal".

Types of Boeing 737 MAX
 737 MAX 7 – Replaces the Boeing 737-700
 737 MAX 8 – Replaces the Boeing 737-800
 737 MAX 9 – Replaces the Boeing 737-900ER
 737 MAX 10

Details

Sources: Boeing 737 specifications

Orders

Related pages

References

Other websites
 Boeing 737 MAX page on Boeing.com
 Boeing 737 MAX on Boeing's NewAirplane.com site

 737 MAX