Boeing: 737 Max: A Year Of Serving The Globe

BY THE NUMBERS

The numbers really do tell the story when it comes to the MAX's one-year anniversary of entry into service.

As of this week, 130 MAX airplanes have been delivered to 28 customers. Total orders for the airplane stand at 4,509.

The MAX has racked up more than 41,000 flights and 118,000 flight hours-transporting more than 6.5 million passengers in the process.

But behind these numbers, there are some compelling stories from our customers.

FUEL EFFICIENCY

One of the biggest promises we made about the MAX was the advantage it would give our customers over Next-Generation 737s. We designed the airplane to be 14 percent more fuel-efficient than today's most efficient NGs. Our customers are proving that on a daily basis.

flydubai recently said it has seen 15% more efficiency with the MAX, along with less disruption and lower maintenance costs.

Hainan Airlines tells us they've seen fuel efficiency increase significantly with the MAXs compared to the NG, especially for flights longer than three hours.

And China Southern says its fuel consumption rate for the MAX has made it the most cost-saving type of any 737 model and the best fit for flights around seven hours.

Before putting the MAX into service, one customer told us they sometimes had to reduce the payload on its 737NG routes covering more than five hours. The MAX has made that a moot point.

EXPANDING ROUTES

The 737 MAX is also expanding networks on all continents, some of them on long distances. There are now 24 routes that fly over 2,500 nautical miles.

Norwegian has the longest routes of any MAX operator, flying up to 3,000 nautical miles transatlantic. They put the airplane into service flying New York Stewart to Bergen, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Shannon-as well as Providence to Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh and Shannon.

In fact, when it comes to long-distance routes, the 737 family dominates against the A320 family. Almost 80% of single-aisle routes over 2,500 nautical miles are flown by the 737 MAX and Next-Generation 737.

The MAX is so efficient that in some cases, it is even replacing widebody service. Aerolineas Argentinas replaced its 4-times weekly A330 service from Buenos Aires to Punta Cana with daily MAX service. That route covers 3,252 nautical miles.

SilkAir is also flying a new route that was not being flown before the MAX came along-Singapore to Hiroshima.

Southwest has a little over 60 daily departures with its fleet of 737 MAX 8s, and Lion Air is up to 35 daily departures with its fleet. Air Canada is using the MAX to launch new service to Kauai.

RELIABILITY

With the 737 MAX, we added new functions and capabilities to make it the best single-aisle airplane in the market. When you put in all that new technology, you're bound to have some teething in the beginning. But after working those out, the MAX is sitting at 99.4% schedule reliability. That's the highest reliability of any new airplane entering service, and exactly where we expected to be 12 months into service.

Now, we're driving toward even better numbers, targeting 99.7% reliability by the end of this year. All indicators show we're right on track to get there as we work closely with our customers.

PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

With the Boeing Sky Interior being a standard feature in all 737 MAX's, we've also been pleased at the reaction we're hearing from the flying public.

Many passengers have noted how much quieter the MAX is, something we're very proud of from a comfort and environmental point of view.

flydubai's MAX fleet has lie-flat seats in business class.

Icelandair's MAX is getting rave reviews for its interior, as well as a custom beer they brewed up for passengers on a celebratory flight called 737 IPA.

Air Italy is just one of several MAX customers who've opted for the larger Space Bins, giving their passengers more room to stow their carry-on bags.

GOING FORWARD

We've accomplished a lot of great things on the MAX program-with more exciting milestones to come. Both MAX 7 test airplanes are now in flight test. Development of the MAX 10 continues to be on schedule, with the first airplane set to enter final assembly next year. And we're doing incredible things in our Renton factory to make all of this happen.

We could not have done any of this without our customers, our employees, and our suppliers and partners. The MAX is the fastest selling airplane in Boeing's history for a reason, and we hope you get a chance to fly on one very soon. Thanks for a great first year!

Refer to full documentation in the attachments box below.

Source: Boeing Blog

Author: Randy Tinseth