With the dedication of the employee team and suppliers, the 737 Max program is on schedule, said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 Max program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We have a lot more work still ahead of us but we’re very pleased with our progress to date.”

Since the arrival of the first fuselage, mechanics have begun installing flight systems and insulation blankets. The fuselage was then moved to the wing-to-body join position on the new production line where the first planes of the line will be built, and the wings were attached to the body of the plane.

The 737 Max features a new winglet design that will give customers up to an additional 1.8 percent fuel-efficiency improvement as compared to present inline winglet designs.

Once mechanics prove out the production process of this first 737 Max, the company will then begin production of the new line at the Renton factory with the existing two final assembly lines.

The opening of a brand new production line in Renton would increase the company’s flexibility and capacity, and allow the team to continue to meet customers’ needs for reliable single-aisle airplanes even in the future, commented Scott Campbell, vice president and general manager, 737 program and Renton site leader, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The first completed 737 Max is slated for completion by the end of the year, and the team aims to fly it in early 2016. The first planes of the line are scheduled to be delivered to Boeing customer Southwest Airlines in the third quarter of 2017. In total, the 737 MAX family has 2,869 orders from 58 customers worldwide.