US aerospace giant Boeing and major US carrier United Airlines jointly announced on Tuesday that the latter had ordered another 200 737 MAX single-aisle airliners from the former. The order includes 150 737-10s, the latest version of the 737 MAX, which only recently made its maiden flight. The remaining 50 aircraft will all be 737-8s.

“We are truly humbled by United Airlines’ confidence in the people of Boeing and the airplanes we design and build every day,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal. “Our strong partnership, dating back to United’s founding, has helped us grow and weather challenges through the decades. As we look forward to the recovery ahead, we are honoured that United has once again chosen the 737 family’s performance, efficiency and flexibility to power their growing network. The Boeing team is excited to be building hundreds of these new jets for United and delivering on a landmark agreement that solidifies our future together for the next decades.”

“Our ‘United Next’ vision will revolutionise the experience of flying United as we accelerate our business to meet a resurgence in air travel,” affirmed United CEO Scott Kirby. “By adding and upgrading this many aircraft so quickly with our new signature interiors, we’ll combine friendly, helpful service with the best experience in the sky, all across our premier global network. At the same time, this move underscores the critical role United plays in fuelling the broader US economy – we expect the addition of these new aircraft will have a significant economic impact on the communities we serve in terms of job creation, traveller spending and the shipping of goods and services.”

This latest order takes the number of 737 MAXs of various models that United is acquiring to 410, of which 30 have so far been delivered. United is the launch customer for the 737-10, having placed its first order for the type in 2017 (by converting an order for 100 737-9s into one for 737-10s). The contract also includes the acquisition of Boeing 737 MAX simulator data packages.

The 737-10 is the largest member of the MAX family, and can carry up to 230 passengers in a single-class cabin configuration. It has a range of up to 3 300 nautical miles (nm) or 6 110 km. The 737-8 can take up to 189 passengers and has a range of 3 550 nm (6 570 km). This is some 600 nm (1 111 km) more than its predecessor 737 model.

The 737 MAX family is composed of four models. From smallest to largest these are the 737-7, the 737-8, the 737-9 and the 737-10.