The American certification of the 737 MAX 7, obtained on August 3, has not yet resulted in a delivery. Southwest Airlines plans to receive its first units by the end of 2026 and to put them into service at the beginning of 2027. Between the final configuration of the aircraft, the company's preparations and a new software problem, the schedule remains to be monitored. Twenty-seven aircraft to prepare. More than seven weeks after the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing has still not delivered any 737 MAX 7. Tom Doxey, Chief Financial Officer of Southwest Airlines, told Reuters that the first deliveries could take place by the end of 2026, with service beginning in early 2027. According to him, 27 aircraft destined for the company have already been built and are currently being prepared. This step is not simply a handover. Boeing notes that the first aircraft still need to receive the modifications required to match their final configuration. Southwest, on its part, must integrate this new model into its procedures and operational documents: as early as June, its operations director Andrew Watterson estimated the internal work following certification to take about six months. A long-awaited certification. On August 3, the FAA issued an amended and updated type certificate and authorized production for the 737 MAX 7. This decision closes an examination that lasted nearly ten years, including a test program that began in 2018 and included, according to the manufacturer, more than 1,000 hours of flight and ground tests. The regulator required improvements to the flight control software, alerts for the crew, and the engine anti-icing system. The latter was redesigned to prevent overheating of the air intake from compromising the structure. The certification validates the design of the model; it does not mean that the assembled units are immediately ready for delivery and operation. A software under examination. A new element invites caution regarding the deadlines. On September 26, Boeing reported a software defect that, in a specific case of throttle retraction followed by a change in route, could affect the use of automated vertical navigation. The FAA is examining the problem and the proposed fix. Southwest told CNBC that none of the aircraft in its current fleet used the affected software version. However, the 737 MAX 7 was certified with the recent software, and the potential consequences for its first deliveries were not established as of September 26. Southwest remains the launch customer for this aircraft, designed by Boeing to carry 135 to 160 passengers in a two-class configuration, with an announced range that can reach up to 7,040 kilometers. The 737 MAX 7, the smallest variant of the family, remains far behind the other models in Boeing's order book: as of early August 2026, it had only 282 aircraft to deliver, 262 of which were destined for Southwest Airlines. For comparison, the MAX 10 currently represents at least 28% of the remaining MAX orders, indicating a significantly greater interest in the most capacity version.