Boeing launches 737 MAX 10 at Paris Air Show

Boeing yesterday launched the newest and largest member of its 737 MAX family of jets at the 2017 Paris Air Show. With 230 seats, the 737 MAX 10 is Boeing's answer to the Airbus A321neo, which had been outselling the smaller MAX 9 at a rate of five-to-one.

"Airlines wanted a larger, better option in the large single-aisle segment with the operating advantages of the 737 MAX family," Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Kevin McAllister said in a statement.

"Adding the 737 MAX 10 gives our customers the most flexibility in the market, providing their fleets the range capability, fuel efficiency and unsurpassed reliability that the 737 MAX family is widely known for."

The 220-seat MAX 9 had largely been unable to score against the 236-seat A321neo, which had marred the otherwise highly successful 737 MAX sales campaign. According to commentators, the MAX 10 would certainly help Boeing to pull even.

Boeing announced during the launch that it had taken over 240 orders and commitments for the MAX 10 worth as much as $30 billion at list prices. This included a 50-plane order from Lion Air Group of Indonesia, worth over $6.2 billion at list prices and a 40 aircraft order from India's SpiceJet - 20 of which were converted over from other MAX models.

"Many airports are running out of capacity and for those airports this is a perfect aircraft," said Ajay Singh, the chairman of low-cost Indian airline SpiceJet, as his company signed a provisional deal to buy 40 MAX 10s, Reuters reported.

However, Airbus sales chief John Leahy dismissed the latest Boeing challenge, saying that much of the interest in the MAX 10 was from existing Boeing customers switching orders from other models.