Boeing has started work on developing a new single-aisle aircraft that will eventually replace the Boeing 737 MAX, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The new aircraft is still in the early stages of development, and plans are still being finalized, according to sources who spoke with the WSJ. The company currently appears to be focusing on designing the flight deck for the new narrowbody aircraft.
Earlier in 2025, Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdings in the United Kingdom to talk about a new engine for the aircraft, according to the WSJ report. Ortberg has appointed a new senior product chief in the commercial plane division, who previously worked on developing a new type of aircraft.
However, Ortberg is yet to publicly confirm details about what kind of aircraft will replace the Boeing 737 MAX.
Boeing outlines new plans amid regulatory challenges
The planemaker’s plans suggest a shift as it continues to face regulatory challenges with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Ortberg has consistently stressed that tackling Boeing’s persistent quality and production problems is his main focus, particularly as the company aims to increase the Boeing 737 MAX production limit, which is currently at 38 aircraft per month following the door plug blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in January 2024.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference on September 11, 2025, Ortberg also announced that Boeing is behind schedule in certifying its new 777-9 widebody aircraft, describing the certification process still ahead as a “mountain of work”.
The grounding of the 737 MAX and its path back to service
The Boeing 737 MAX started operating in 2017 but was grounded worldwide in 2019 after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the aircraft type.
On November 18, 2020, the FAA lifted the 20-month grounding, the longest ever grounding of a US airliner.
In a statement on September 26, 2025, the FAA announced that Boeing will be permitted to issue some airworthiness certificates for the Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 787 starting September 29, 2025.
5 comments
Wrong size of aircraft, or is Boeing admitting that the A-321XLR is the right size of aircraft. The 767/757 sector was the area that everyone thought that needed a new aircraft model, not the 737. I suspect this family will extend up to the 787, & down to the lower end of the current 737 fleet. But I would have gone for the 757/767/330 area, unless the technology can’t give the savings, to make a new model economically viable
I agree on 757. Boeing dropped the Ball . . . With the New Engine Tecnologys Available existing Now a New 757 type would be a Queen.
Boeing could use a solid replacement for the 757. I’d gather all the 757 experts from each airline and pull them into a room for 1 week to pick their brains on what issues they’ve seen over the past few decades and then come up with something that has comparable power and better fuel efficiency.
Frankly, such a wish step was long overdue by Boeing.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The 737 is a machine well beyond its proper retirement date.
Boeing had planned to lop the nose off when designing the 300/400/500 series in the early 80’s and putting the 757 nose and flight deck on the fuselage, which would have beaten airbus to the crew commonality punch by years, however Southwest said no and if it happened they wouldn’t buy the type again – and we see the result of this today with the NG and MAX aircraft.
Having flown the 737-300/400/700/800/Max, A330, B777, Embraer E170/190 and E190-E2, I can say with some confidence that the 737 is the most horrid machine I have flown – with the Bae146 coming a close second.
I would love to fly the 350, having flown the sim, and it is an impressive machine.
I would love to see the new type Boeing are considering be a side stick machine, but that would kill crew commonality with the 777/787/777X, so I guess the control column needs to stay.
The biggest risk with a new aeroplane these days seems to be the engines. The E2, A220, A320 neo family fitted with Pratt GTF’s seem to be knobbled by engine reliability issues. Same with the RR engines on the 787
It’s a shame as these new engines are great – when they work.