Originally Posted by
WillowRun 6-3
State of play in Congress reportedly is that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D.-Wash.) is driving legislative measures to extend the date, with a requirement for "additional safety improvements" not otherwise identified in the reporting. The measure "would require newly produced 737 MAX jets and the existing fleet to be retrofitted with safety features currently slated for the 737 MAX 10." (Though stated in plain enough English, this SLF/attorney doesn't quite understand what is being proposed here.)
Perhaps, if the date is extended, then as an earlier poster suggested, the result might be two sub-variants of the MAX 7 and MAX 10 - a "commonality" sub-variant, and a "new alerting" sub-variant. And what is within "additional safety improvements"?
According to what I've read, the proposal is that a third AOA source (probably synthetic rather than another physical sensor) be a mandatory retrofit to the entire MAX fleet. As it currently stands, EASA would require the 3rd AOA source, but other authorities haven't mandated it.
DR - I think the MAX 7 is appealing to current MAX operators that want something a little smaller, but don't want to add another type (e.g. the A220) to their fleet. I keep hearing that Southwest really wants them for their lighter routes. Southwest currently has a huge fleet of 737-700s.
f that market is large enough to justify the expense of development/cert is a different question. Certainly it wouldn't justify a multi-Billion dollar effort to update the flight deck (especially since it would adversely affect the common type rating).