Boeing's New No-Drama 737 Jetliner Is Ready for Its Public Debut
- After snags on other models, Max quietly meets a deadline
- Planemaker can't afford delays on latest version of cash cow
The first completed Boeing Co. 737 MAX airplane is pictured at the Boeing manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, on Dec. 8. The first four 737 MAX airplanes, including this one, are destined for Southwest Airlines.
Photographer: David Ryder/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Boeing Co.’s latest 737 airliner is gliding through development with little notice, and that may be the plane’s strongest selling point.
Even the customary fanfare accompanying a new plane’s public debut has been muted. While the 737 Max’s rollout is being celebrated Tuesday in private ceremonies outside Seattle, the first plane actually slipped out of a Boeing factory to the paint shop on Nov. 30, meeting to the day a timeline set four years ago.