The first 737 MAX 9, N7379E (c/n 42987), during its first flight on April 13, 2017. This jet and a second will undertake the variant's certification testing this year and into 2018.

Boeing has pitched the 737 MAX 9 at operators who want extra capacity on high-density routes that need more seat rows than the MAX 8.

The 737 MAX 9 will be able to accommodate between 180 and 204 seats, three more rows longer than the 737 MAX 8. The aircraft has the same fuselage length as the 737-900ER.

Malindo Air is set to be the 737 MAX 8’s launch customer, but the aircraft of several other operators - including flyDubai’s first example, A6-MAX (c/n 60966) have been parked at Renton.

Aircraft N8703J (1A003, c/n cn 42556) was the systems performance test 737 MAX 8, which tested all of the aircraft’s systems, including autoland.