B737 Max

Boeing 737 MAX
Boeing 737 MAX during a flight display
Role	Narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Boeing Commercial Airplanes
First flight	January 29, 2016
Introduction	May 22, 2017 with Malindo Air
Status	In service
Primary users	Southwest Airlines Lion Air China Southern Airlines Air China
Produced	2014–present
Number built	80 as of January 2018
Program cost	Airframe only: $1-1.8 billion; including engine development: $2-3B
Unit cost	MAX 7: US$96.0 million, MAX 8: $117.1M, MAX 200: $120.2M, MAX 9M: $124.1M, MAX 10: $129.9M as of 2018,
Developed from	Boeing 737 Next Generation

The Boeing 737 MAX is an American narrow-body aircraft series designed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, succeeding the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG).

The program was launched on August 30, 2011. The first flight was on January 29, 2016. It gained FAA certification on March 9, 2017. The first delivery was a MAX -8 on May 6, 2017 to Malindo Air, which put it into service on May 22, 2017. The 737 MAX is based on earlier 737 designs. The MAX is re-engined with more efficient CFM International LEAP-1B powerplants, aerodynamic improvements (most notably split-tip winglets), and airframe modifications.

The 737 MAX series is offered in four lengths, typically offering 138 to 230 seats and a 3,215 to 3,825 nmi (5,954 to 7,084 km) range. The 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, and MAX 9 replace, respectively, the 737-700, -800, and -900. Additional length is offered with the further stretched 737 MAX 10. As of January 2018, the Boeing 737 MAX has received 4,307 firm orders.

In 2006, Boeing started considering the replacement of the 737 with a "clean-sheet" design that could follow the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In June 2010, a decision on this replacement was postponed into 2011.

On December 1, 2010, Boeing's competitor, Airbus, launched the Airbus A320neo family to improve fuel burn and operating efficiency with new engines: the CFM International LEAP and Pratt & Whitney PW1000G. In February 2011, Boeing’s CEO Jim McNerney maintained "We're going to do a new airplane." At the March 2011 ISTAT conference, BCA President James Albaugh was not sure about a 737 re-engine, like Boeing CFO James A. Bell stated at JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defence conference the same month. The A320neo gathered 667 commitments at the June 2011 Paris Air Show for a backlog of 1,029 units since its launch, setting an order record for a new commercial airliner.