‘Light At End Of Tunnel’ For 737 MAX Certification, Ortberg Says

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Guy Norris May 27, 2026

The long, drawn-out certification of the final 737 MAX derivatives, the 737-7 and -10, has entered its final stages with more than 80% of the flight test campaign completed, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg says.

“There’s clearly light at the end of the tunnel here, and we’re going to get these certification programs done,” says Ortberg, who was speaking on May 27 at the Bernstein annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York.

“Certification flights are scored for both the -7 and the -10, and we have authority from the FAA for the entire flight test regime now, so we don’t need any more TIA [type inspection authorization] approvals from the FAA,” Ortberg says, referring to the phased certification test approval process used by the U.S. regulator to manage the pace and content of the test program.

“So, it’s just a matter of getting through that flight test program, and we’re clicking them off as we speak,” says Ortberg, adding that this is reflected in the current pace of test activity. On May 27, Boeing’s two 737-10 development aircraft, 1G001 and 1G002, were scheduled to conduct stability and control, and avionics flight tests, respectively, while the sole 737-7 test aircraft, 1E001, was due to undertake a functional check flight.

“We’re really banging this down, and that will get to the end of the year where we’ll get the certification, so we can really support next year’s deliveries. We’re building -10s, so we need to get that certification done so that we can start those deliveries,” he adds. Certification of the 737-7, which required a smaller work package than that of the stretched -10, is likely to come slightly earlier than its larger sibling, Ortberg says.

With flight tests of the engine anti-ice system—the major redesign originally pacing the remaining MAX derivatives certification effort—now behind it, Boeing’s final check list consists of “just the normal things you do at the end of the flight test program,” says Ortberg. “We’re pretty confident that we’re not going to see any hiccups here in the remaining regime of flight testing,” he adds.

Focusing on Boeing’s continued production ramp rate for the 737, Ortberg says Boeing has also completed a capstone review with the FAA of its plans to accelerate assembly to 47 aircraft per month—up from the current 42 per month. Boeing is already practicing operating the line at the higher rate based on a build-up process which involves inserting “blanks” into the production line. The blanks provide margin in the event of delays to assembly or the arrival of parts to the production station.

“We are now in the process of running the line at the 47 a month rate. It’ll probably take us a few months of stabilization there, but I’ll say when we went from 38 to 42 that stabilization didn’t take too long. My guess is we continue to go up in rate, it may take a little bit longer, but we’re off and rolling now for the 47 a month rate, and we should be there next couple months now,” Ortberg says.

On timing for the planned follow-up rate increase to 52 per month, Ortberg remains more cautious. “We’ll have to watch that, because that’s going to be more of a strain than going to 47 because of the inventory,” he observes. Part of the increased rate will depend on the smooth introduction of capacity from the new “North” line Boeing is preparing to debut at its Everett, Washington, facility.

“That production line is in place, we’ll be firing an airplane through that to qualify the production system,” Ortberg says. “It is a ‘lift and stick’ of the Renton production line, and we’re hiring people. We’re going to flow them through Renton and then move them up to up to the Everett line. We need the Everett line active to move 52 and beyond, not for 47 but while we’re stabilizing at 47, we’ll be bringing the North line on at low-rate production.”

With the expectation that Boeing will be stabilized at the 47 per month rate milestone later this summer, or around six months after stabilizing at 42, Ortberg says the next rate increase “will probably be close to that six month, but it’ll be close to that—I think it’ll be a little longer.”


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