Boeing announced that they have successfully completed their first test flight of the Boeing 737 Max 7 aircraft, which is aimed for delivery in early 2019. The flight took off from Renton, WA and flew for just over 3 hours, before landing at Seattle’s Boeing Field.

Southwest Airlines will be the launch customer for this aircraft, which currently uses only a Boeing 737 fleet, with a variation of the Boeing 737-700, and Boeing 737-800 aircrafts. The airline recently retired both the Boeing 737-500 and Boeing 737-300 models.

Per Boeing,

The airplane remains on schedule and now begins a comprehensive flight test program leading to certification and delivery in 2019.

The airplane is the third and newest member of Boeing’s 737 MAX family to be produced, with a maximum capacity of 172 passengers. The MAX 7 has a range of 3,850 nautical miles, the longest of any MAX family airplane. It is designed for exceptional performance for airline customers flying out of airports at high altitudes and hot climates.

The MAX 7 also offers superior performance to the competition, carrying 12 more passengers 400 nautical miles farther than the A319neo, on 7 percent lower fuel costs.

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