Rumor has it that the US FAA will announce the Boeing (BA.US) 737 MAX 10 certification on Tuesday to influence the expansion of airlines such as Delta and the Federal Reserve

The Zhitong Finance App learned that a source familiar with the matter revealed that US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is expected to announce during his visit to Washington State on Tuesday that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the Boeing 737 MAX 10.

Duffy will show up at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington on Tuesday to promote the FAA's certification of the larger model of Boeing's best-selling aircraft, which has been delayed for a long time. Boeing opened a new production line at the Everett plant in July this year to expand the production capacity of the 737 MAX. The model was also assembled at the Renton plant.

Boeing referred the matter to the FAA, which did not immediately comment. The FAA held a model certification committee review meeting last Friday. The committee consists of FAA management members and is the last step before the FAA makes a certification decision.

The airline has ordered nearly 1,500 MAX 10s, and this model accounts for about 30% of Boeing 737 undelivered orders. Boeing has built a small number of MAX 10s awaiting delivery.

This larger aircraft, which can carry more passengers, is critical to the growth plans of many airlines. MAX 10's main customers include United Airlines (UAL.US), Alaska Airlines (ALK.US), Ryanair (RYAAY.US), Delta Air Lines (DAL.US), and American Airlines (AAL.US).

Since the two fatal MAX 8 air crashes in 2018 and 2019, Boeing has faced a more stringent certification process; the company's production and quality systems have also been reviewed after the air hatch panel burst on an Alaskan Airlines nearly brand new MAX 9 in January 2024.

Duffy met with CEOs of major aerospace companies such as Boeing, RTX, Honeywell, GE Aerospace, Textron, and Gulfstream in Georgia last week to discuss how to improve the certification process.

After more than eight years of review, the FAA finally approved the smaller 737 MAX 7 model in August of this year. Prior to the delay, Boeing initially planned to begin delivering the MAX 10 in 2020.

Problems with the 737 MAX engine anti-icing system that appeared in 2023 further delayed the certification of MAX 7 and MAX 10.

Boeing revealed at the end of September that the latest update to the 737 MAX navigation software failed, and at one point threatened to further delay certification. However, the FAA determined that the issue did not constitute a safety concern, nor did it require Boeing to fix the issue as a certification condition.

Boeing is still in the process of certifying its largest passenger aircraft in production, the 777-9, which has been delayed six years from the plan. The company said it expects to complete certification and begin delivery in 2027.