Delta Air Lines is now scheduled to receive its first Boeing 737 Max 10 in 2026, a year later than the US carrier previously expected to begin integrating the yet-to-be-certificated type into its fleet.
In a 10 October filing with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Delta disclosed that it had recently amended its purchase agreement with Boeing, which includes orders for 100 737 Max 10s and options for a further 30 of the next-generation narrowbody jets.
An “updated delivery schedule” now has 20 737 Max 10s arriving in 2026 and “80 thereafter”, according to the filing.
Delta operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies, including 77 older 737-800s and 163 737-900ERs, according to the SEC filing. The incoming Max 10s would represent Delta’s first latest-generation 737s.
The long-delayed Max 10 – the largest variant of the 737 Max family – could be certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the first half of 2025, former Boeing chief executive David Calhoun said in July. The smallest variant in the series, the Max 7, appears to be on a similar certification path.
Boeing has reportedly made progress in redesigning the engine anti-ice system for the Max 7 and Max 10 to address an overheating problem, which has delayed the certifications.
But the timing is in the hands of the FAA.
Both programmes have been badly delayed, with the FAA increasing scrutiny in response to criticism of how it handled certification of the Max 8 and Max 9.
Meanwhile, Boeing, already struggling to keep its promised pace of 737 production, is mired in a weeks-long machinists strike that stands to further limit the capacity of its production lines in Renton, Washington.
