How The Boeing 737 MAX 10 Is Growing First Class On US Airlines

Published Nov 15, 2026, 3:00 AM EST Daniel comes to Simple Flying with a business focused approach to the aviation world. Daniel enjoys analyzing strategy and how companies move against each other to gain a step ahead in the skies. Besides strategy, Daniel also has a passion for aircraft design and the history of aviation. Based in New York The Boeing 737 MAX 10 is now certified, and airlines will soon begin taking delivery of the aircraft. WestJet should be the launch operator of the aircraft in early 2027, while Alaska Airlines and United Airlines will take delivery of their first examples shortly afterwards. Delta Air Lines is expected to start taking its first 737 MAX 10s later in 2027, while American Airlines will take its first MAX 10s in 2029. Altogether, four US airlines have ordered 550 737 MAX 10s, making its long-awaited arrival hugely important. Not only will the aircraft itself be a staple of each airline's narrowbody fleet, but the airlines are planning to try some new ideas with the MAX 10 as well. American and Delta have both confirmed that they will install 24 first class seats, as opposed to the previously expected 20-seat cabin. Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, plans to operate a subfleet of 737 MAX 10 with lie-flat business class seats, hoping to directly take on the dominant legacy carriers on the lucrative transcontinental market. Increasing The Size Of First Class Cabins Credit: Ian Dewar Photography I Shutterstock As it currently stands, the narrowbody with the largest first class cabin in American Airlines' fleet is the Airbus A321-200 and A321neo, both of which have 20 first class seats. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines both operate the Boeing 757-300 with 24 first class seats, but the 757-300 is also a much larger aircraft than an A321 or 737. For both airlines, their A321s and 737s max out at 20 first class seats. It was believed that these airlines' 737 MAX 10s would also come with 20 first class seats. Delta Air Lines had previously revealed that its 737 MAX 10s would feature 20 Delta First seats and 182 seats in total, but later statements from company leadership have confirmed that the planes will have 24 Delta First seats instead. This is despite the aircraft being about the same size as the carrier's A321neos, which have 20 Delta First seats. American Airlines has also publicly confirmed that its 737 MAX 10s, which are coming later than Delta's, will have 24 first class seats and a larger Main Cabin Extra section. The primary reason why US airlines are growing first class cabins is due to rising premium demand. First class is in high demand, and airlines therefore want to capitalize on this by growing the cabins. As the 737 MAX 10 is all three airlines' next narrowbody aircraft type, it makes sense to expand first class on this aircraft type first, especially given its size. Should the results prove successful, the carriers will surely expand this idea to other types as well. Delta Air Lines And The 737 MAX 10 Credit: Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines currently holds orders for 100 737 MAX 10s, which will begin arriving in 2027, and they will arrive with Delta First seats. This is the same amount as the carrier's 757-300 fleet, of which the carrier has only 16 examples. However, neither aircraft is the one with the largest first class cabin in Delta's fleet, as the carrier is currently operating a subfleet of Airbus A321neos with a 44-seat Delta First cabin. This is by far the largest first class cabin offered by any US airline. These seven planes were originally intended to feature a three-cabin layout with lie-flat business class seats, but delays with the seats have led Delta to simply install eight additional rows of Premium Select and market the 11-row cabin as Delta First. While this is a temporary solution to make use of planes that have been sitting in storage, the cabin is consistently almost full, which means that the 20-seat cabins are leaving money on the table. Delta Air Lines A321neo Layouts Delta One Delta Premium Select Delta First Delta Comfort Delta Main Total Seats 3NE N/A N/A 20 seats 60 seats 114 seats 194 seats 3NP N/A N/A 44 seats 54 seats 66 seats 164 seats 3NF 16 suites 12 seats N/A 54 seats 66 seats 148 seats More than likely, Delta had already decided earlier to increase the size of the 737 MAX 10's first class cabin, and the results of the 44-seat cabins on these A321neos are simply validating the carrier's earlier plans. However, the results of the experiment demonstrate much stronger demand for first class than the current supply, and Delta CCO Joe Esposito has previously stated that the 'sweet spot' is somewhere between 24 and 44 seats. As such, it's possible that future deliveries of 737s or A321neos may have even more Delta First seats. American Airlines And The 737 MAX 10 Credit: Boeing American Airlines first ordered the 737 MAX 10 in 2024 and currently holds orders for 115 examples, set to start coming in 2029. In August 2026, the carrier made a significant announcement that it would upgrade the interiors of its narrowbody fleet, add seatback screens to all aircraft, install Starlink WiFi, and add more first class and main cabin extra seating. This includes configuring the 737 MAX 10 with 24 first class seats and additional Main Cabin Extra seats. American more or less installs the same number of first class seats as its competitors, but the carrier tends to sell fewer Main Cabin Extra seats and has not been performing as well financially. American has been making a push to become more 'premium' through a variety of different methods, which now includes upgrading the cabins of its narrowbody jets and adding premium capacity. Features like seatback screens and more extra legroom seats have benefited competitors, while larger first class cabins are now clearly the future. For both Delta and American, the 737 MAX 10 is simply their next aircraft, which is why both have chosen it to implement their latest domestic premium cabin strategies. While both airlines also fly the A321neo, they both ordered and specced their aircraft before the current rise in premium travel. Notably, American has also stated that its A321neos will be reconfigured with more first class seats, but did not explicitly say that they would have 24 seats like the 737 MAX 10. This could mean an even larger first class cabin. Alaska Airlines & The 737 MAX 10 Credit: Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines currently holds orders for 163 737 MAX 10s, making it the second-largest customer for the MAX 10. Most of these aircraft will be in a domestic layout with an unspecified number of first class seats. However, the carrier has revealed that at least 25 737 MAX 10s will have a three-cabin layout with lie-flat seats and a premium economy cabin, named 'Premium Reserve'. This is the first time that Alaska will be flying narrowbodies with lie-flats, directly taking on American, Delta, JetBlue, and United on transcontinental routes. The 737 MAX will feature 12 'Aurora' Suites and 12 Premium Reserve seats, which is fairly conservative compared to the competition. Notably, the Aurora Suites and Premium Reserve seats will be equipped with seatback screens, also a first on an Alaska Airlines narrowbody, but the economy seats won't. Passengers will instead have to rely on personal device streaming and the Starlink WiFi system, and Alaska Airlines will be the only carrier in this market not to offer screens in economy. For the other US operators of the 737 MAX 10, the aircraft is complementing the A321neo, which is set to be used as a standard domestic aircraft as well as for transcontinental flights by all three US carriers. Alaska Airlines, however, does not have any A321neos under the Alaska brand (there are 18 A321neos flying under the Hawaiian Airlines brand). As such, the 737 MAX 10 will be serving multiple roles for Alaska, including as a new premium transcontinental narrowbody. United Airlines And The 737 MAX 10 Credit: Lukas Souza I Shutterstock United Airlines holds 167 orders for the 737 MAX 10, making it the largest customer for the MAX 10. The airline has ordered 514 737 MAX aircraft in total, split between 123 MAX 8s, 224 MAX 9s, and 167 MAX 10s. At one point, however, United held orders for 277 MAX 10s, but it later converted 110 orders to the MAX 9 due to delays with certification. In addition, United has continued to increase its A321neo order count to 210 in total, not including the A321XLR orders. The 737 MAX 10 was intended to be United's workhorse narrowbody, but the A321neo and 737 MAX 9 fleet will both be larger. In addition, the airline has planned a subfleet of 50 A321neos with a three-class configuration to operate premium transcontinental routes, a role that it originally planned to assign to the 737 MAX 10. For the most part, the 737 MAX 10 will serve the same role as the standard A321neo, and United has not announced anything new or unique for the aircraft yet. It's been reported that United had planned 20 United First seats and 189 seats in total for the MAX 10, and it's unknown if the airline has changed this to add more first class seats. In addition, United's A321neos have all arrived with 20 United First seats so far. While nothing has been announced from United, the recent announcements from American and Delta suggest that this could become a new shift in the US airline industry, and it wouldn't be surprising to see United follow.