Boeing 737 MAX 7

Updated: October 2026 – A short 737 with fat engines, serrated nacelle edges and a strikingly stubby fuselage rolls across the apron? Then it could be the rarest variant of Boeing’s current narrowbody family: the Boeing 737 MAX 7. It flew as early as 2018 but was only certified in August 2026. On this page you will learn why that took so long, who has ordered the type, how to reliably recognize it and where you are most likely to get the first examples in front of your lens.

What is the Boeing 737 MAX 7?

The 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. Boeing took the proven fuselage and combined it with new CFM LEAP-1B engines, forked wingtips, a reworked tail and modernized avionics. The family comes in four lengths: MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 9 and MAX 10.

The MAX 7 is the smallest member and the successor to the 737-700. It is not quite as small as its predecessor, though: originally designed on the basis of the -700, it was reworked in 2016 and stretched by two rows of seats. At around 35.6 meters, it is almost two meters longer than the -700 and about four meters shorter than the MAX 8. Boeing quotes 135 to 160 seats for the two-class cabin, and a maximum of 172 seats is certified.

One special feature sets it apart from its sisters: the MAX 7 has the longest range of the entire MAX family. Boeing quotes up to around 7,040 kilometers. The manufacturer therefore markets it specifically for long, thin routes and for airports at high altitude or in hot climates, where heavier aircraft lose takeoff weight. You can find more about the manufacturer itself on the Boeing page, and more about the engine maker under CFM International.

The long history of certification

Hardly any current airliner has waited as long for its certification as the MAX 7. A look at the milestones explains why.

The pandemic, new certification procedures and the tightened oversight after the incident in which a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 in January 2024 slowed the pace further. According to Boeing, the MAX 7 test campaign comprised around 700 flight hours in about 440 test flights as well as around 350 hours of ground testing.

Who has ordered the MAX 7

The MAX 7 is a niche product. According to industry data from Cirium, reported by trade media in August 2026, there are fewer than 300 orders in total – a small fraction of the entire MAX order books, which Boeing puts at more than 7,200 aircraft.

• Southwest Airlines is the launch customer and by far the most important buyer. According to industry data, the airline holds more than 250 open MAX 7 orders. Southwest flies an all-737 fleet and wants to replace its aging -700s with the MAX 7. Because certification kept slipping, it took additional MAX 8s as a substitute and temporarily removed the MAX 7 from its fleet planning for that year in January 2024.
• Allegiant Air, the US leisure airline from Las Vegas, has ordered around two dozen MAX 7s.
• WestJet from Canada had ordered MAX 7s as well but converted this order to MAX 8s. In everyday service, WestJet therefore continues to fly 737-700s, 737-800s and MAX 8s.
• On top of that come smaller orders from other customers, some without a publicly named buyer.

Because many purchase contracts allow switching between MAX variants, these numbers keep fluctuating. For your spotting plans, one thing matters most: the first MAX 7s in scheduled service will almost certainly wear Southwest colors.

How to recognize the 737 MAX 7

At first glance, the MAX 7 is simply a short 737. Three features are enough to place it reliably, though.

The forked wingtip (Advanced Technology Winglet) confirms the finding but is not conclusive on its own: some older 737s carry retrofitted Split Scimitar winglets, which also have an element pointing down. How to tell the different wingtips apart is shown in the guide Recognizing winglets, Sharklets and Split Scimitars. For an overview of all four 737 generations, see Telling the Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart.

MAX 7, 737-700 or MAX 8?

The table compares the MAX 7 with its closest relatives.

Feature	737-700	737 MAX 7	737 MAX 8
ICAO type code	B737	B37M	B38M
Length	33.6 m	approx. 35.6 m	39.5 m
Engine	CFM56-7B	LEAP-1B	LEAP-1B
Nacelle trailing edge	smooth	serrated (chevrons)	serrated (chevrons)
Emergency exits over the wing (per side)	usually 1	2	2
Wingtip	Blended, Split Scimitar or none	Advanced Technology Winglet	Advanced Technology Winglet

Against the -700, engines, wingtip and emergency exits decide; against the MAX 8, mainly the length. When in doubt, the type code in the tracking service or the registration helps – how to read it is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.

Risk of confusion with Airbus

In the same size class, Airbus has the A319neo and the A220-300. The finder helps you place a short, modern aircraft. The basics are covered in the article Telling Airbus and Boeing apart.

One additional clue in overflight: the 737’s main landing gear has no outer doors, so you see the wheels sitting open in the fuselage. On the Airbus types the wheel wells are closed. You can find more on reading engine shapes under Recognizing engines.

Where to find the 737 MAX 7

As of October 2026, the MAX 7 is not yet in scheduled service. If you want to see one now, you have to go where Boeing builds and tests: the greater Seattle area. The 737 is final-assembled at the Renton plant, and test flights and deliveries run through Boeing Field in Seattle, among others.

Location	Chance of a hit	Why
Boeing Field, Seattle	good	Boeing test and delivery operations
Paine Field, Everett	occasional	Boeing site with busy test traffic of other types
Southwest bases in the US	rising from the start of deliveries	Southwest is by far the largest customer
Las Vegas	rising from the start of deliveries	Major Southwest base and home of Allegiant
Airports in Europe	very low	No major European orders known

Good starting points in Seattle are the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field – you can learn more about the museum itself on the Museum of Flight Seattle page – and Boeing Future of Flight in Everett. Once Southwest and Allegiant put the first aircraft into service, a look at Sunset Park at Las Vegas Airport is also worthwhile. You can find background on the airport under Las Vegas Airport, and tips on the city in the article Plane spotting in Las Vegas.

Spotting tips: catching the first MAX 7s

With a new type, timing matters most. First deliveries and ferry flights are often visible only briefly – and exactly these moments are especially valuable for collectors.

How to configure alerts sensibly is covered in the article Setting up notifications for aircraft, types and airlines. What is behind ferry flights is explained in Tracking delivery and ferry flights. And you can calculate the light with Planning the sun position for your photo spot.

Photo tips specifically for the 737 MAX 7

A short fuselage changes how the picture looks: the large engines appear even more prominent on the MAX 7 than on its sisters. Use that deliberately.

• Side view for identification: A photo in profile shows fuselage length and emergency exits at the same time. That way, any viewer can later verify the type.
• Angled from behind for the details: From this angle, the chevrons, tail cone and the lower winglet element are most clearly visible.
• Tighter framing: Because the MAX 7 is shorter, it fills less of the frame at the same focal length than a MAX 8. Plan for a bit more focal length or a closer vantage point.
• Document first editions: The first deliveries in particular often carry special stickers or anniversary designs. How to find such liveries is shown in Finding special liveries.

If you are just starting out with spotting, Recognizing aircraft types for beginners and Plane spotting for beginners help you get started.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The 737 MAX 7 is an aircraft with a history before it has carried a single paying passenger. Eight years between first flight and certification make it one of the most unusual types in recent aviation. For spotters, that means the coming months are the time of premieres. If you catch the first deliveries to Southwest or Allegiant, you will have real rarity value in your logbook – and in Europe the MAX 7 remains a rarity for now.