Despite the world-wide grounding of its 737 MAX jetliners, Boeing has rolled out the biggest version of the jet, the 737-10, which is designed to hold up to 204 passengers. Despite the introduction, it cannot be delivered to customers until the MAX family is re-certified by aviation authorities.
The -10 is the latest instance of how the 737 has grown over its 50 years from a plane designed for shorter-haul service to smaller airports while its larger cousins carried larger loads on longer routes. It has outlasted the 757 and 767, and has grown from 94 feet and 124 passengers to a behemoth intended for transcontinental or intercontinental service.
Because of the grounding after two fatal crashes blamed on flaws in the plane or its software, Boeing is struggling to keep its order books full, and to settle with airlines losing money while planes sit on the ground. In the meanwhile, production has continued in the hopes that deliveries can resume, but Boeing is nearly out of space to store newly-built 737s.
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