By Dan Catchpole and Rajesh Kumar Singh
SEATTLE, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Alaska Air expects Boeing’s 737 MAX 10 to be certified by the end of September and plans to take delivery of its first aircraft next spring, Chief Operating Officer Jason Berry told Reuters on Thursday.
The airline expects to put the MAX 10 into passenger service between April and mid-May, Berry said.
The Federal Aviation Administration must certify the airplane before Boeing can begin deliveries.
Any delay to the 737 MAX 10 certification, which is already several years behind, could threaten that timeline.
After the single-aisle jet is certified by federal regulators, Alaska must certify its heads-up display for pilots, which will take a “few months,” he said.
The tight timeline “is sporting,” he said, adding that “we’re not panicking yet.”
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Writing by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
