Virgin and the MAX10

[Saab34]

Boeing boss warns over risk to 737 Max 10 future

The Max 10 is the latest and largest plane in Boeing's 737 family of jets, which has come under scrutiny.

au.news.yahoo.com

No trade secret that the -10 will either be very late, or completely pulled. Doubt VA will be getting it in 10 months as planned. Some analysts looking at a 12 month delay even if things go perfectly, looks set to slip into 2024.

I wonder if Virgin would opt for the MAX9? Or perhaps take some compensation and stick with more -8.

 

[Boof1]

The delivery date of the Max10 is not confirmed, it moved from July 2023 to “mid-2023” when the orders were adjusted in 2020. Now with the Max8’s arriving in Feb 2023 it is more than likely the 10’s won’t appear until sometime in the third quarter.

Virgin’s options in many ways will be dictated by Boeing’s offers if/when there may be a delay. Who knows what cards each have to play at the table?

 

[AIRwin]

Annoucement on delivery:

https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/newsroom/2026/6/virgin-australia-advances-next-phase-of-fleet-renewal-with-first/

 

[serfty]

Annoucement on delivery:

https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/newsroom/2026/6/virgin-australia-advances-next-phase-of-fleet-renewal-with-first/

---

Saturday, 13 June 2026: Virgin Australia has today confirmed it expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 737-10 in late 2027, marking the next phase of the airline’s fleet renewal program and the arrival of what will become the largest aircraft in its fleet.

The airline has 10 firm orders for the 737-10, with the first aircraft expected to arrive next year based on manufacturer Boeing’s positive progress with US regulatory approvals.

The larger 737-10 will provide additional capacity and flexibility across Virgin Australia’s domestic and short-haul international network, supporting the airline’s strategy to operate an efficient, streamlined fleet.

 

[elanshin]

At this stage I'll take any timeline with a grain of salt until certification is actually complete. (Same with 777X).

 

[Saab34]

Would be great to see some VA -7s ordered!

 

[Scarlett]

So which VA routes need the additional capacity? I’m guessing not on trunk east coast routes as, due to the frequency, they seem to run at 65-85% loads.

CNS in winter and HBA in summer? DRW flights always seem pretty full.

Or will they spend more time flying internationally? Actually DPS during school holidays would seem a no brainer.

 

[liam1098]

So which VA routes need the additional capacity? I’m guessing not on trunk east coast routes as, due to the frequency, they seem to run at 65-85% loads.

CNS in winter and HBA in summer? DRW flights always seem pretty full.

Or will they spend more time flying internationally? Actually DPS during school holidays would seem a no brainer.

They won't be able to for DPS, aside from Gold Coast and Canberra, as there are restrictions on amount of seats per week from MEL, SYD, BNE, and PER. They will run them on the golden triangle, SYD-MEL-BNE, as that is where most flights sell out/where extra capacity is needed. The MAX-10 has similar to slightly lower operating costs than the 737-800NG, but will carry about 20 more pax, which will improve margins. This also means they will be able to keep the same amount of frequency. I also imagine we will see them on CNS, OOL, HBA, ADL etc during peak travel periods.

 

[Lucass]

Would be great to see some VA -7s ordered!

What role would they play in the fleet, though? The -7 has higher per seat costs and is heavy due to the large engines

 

[Luke B]

What role would they play in the fleet, though? The -7 has higher per seat costs and is heavy due to the large engines

737-700s currently play a role on the thinner routes like BNE-TSV, HBA-BNE, SYD-BNK and some PER based flying. The other alternative is the E2 E190 but would be harder with crew qualifications. The 737-700s ex KLM seem to have been a great grab for VA.