Alaska Airlines expects the Boeing 737 MAX 10 to clear FAA certification by the end of September 2026, closing out a qualification campaign that has run more than five years since the type's first flight on June 18, 2021.

Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry told Reuters that Alaska anticipates its first MAX 10 delivery in spring 2027, with a service debut between April and mid-May of that year.

Boeing has echoed that timeline. In a September 16 update, the manufacturer said CEO Kelly Ortberg expected MAX 10 certification "very soon" and that the company was working closely with the FAA.

The stakes for Alaska are considerable. In January 2026, the Seattle-based carrier ordered 105 MAX 10s alongside five 787s — the largest aircraft purchase in its history. The agreement also carries options for 35 additional MAX 10s, with deliveries stretching through 2035.

Alaska plans to deploy the larger narrowbody both for network growth and to replace older 737s. Boeing said the aircraft would serve routes with heavier demand, complementing Alaska's existing 737 fleet.

The MAX 10 is the largest member of the 737 family. Boeing lists maximum capacity at 230 passengers, though individual airlines determine their own cabin configurations. For Alaska, which already operates MAX 8s and MAX 9s, the type adds seat count on dense routes while preserving a common pilot type rating and maintenance base across the family.

That fleet commonality came with a hedge. When Alaska announced the January 2026 order, it retained flexibility to convert the MAX 10 commitments to another 737 model if certification slipped further — a provision that reflects how the program's prolonged approval process has repeatedly pushed back airline delivery plans.

If the FAA signs off by the end of this month as Alaska expects, Boeing will have cleared the last of the four MAX variants currently in its catalogue, ending a certification saga that began before the type had even left the ground. The first MAX 10 flight in June 2021 preceded a succession of schedule revisions driven by regulatory scrutiny of the 737 family following the MAX 8 grounding.

For Alaska, certification converts a paper order into a delivery pipeline. Spring 2027 arrivals would begin replacing older airframes and adding capacity on high-demand routes, with the fleet build running through 2035.

Whether Boeing can hold the production and delivery cadence that Alaska's 105-unit order assumes will become clear once the first aircraft move to the carrier's Seattle base ahead of the April-to-mid-May 2027 service entry window.