Max & family

The 737 MAX program has met and exceeded its major deadlines and is being delivered slightly ahead of schedule

As Australian Aviation went to press, Malaysia-based Malindo Air was set to receive the first Boeing 737 MAX 8 and put the aircraft into service on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore and Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok Don Muang routes.

The imminent first delivery of the narrowbody comes roughly five years and eight months after the MAX was launched in August 2011 and concludes what executives from the manufacturer have described as a smooth and largely incident-free development and flight test program.