Podcast: Hello MAX 10, Auf Wiedersehen A346

Editors discuss what the long-awaited certification of the Boeing 737-10 means for the industry and what's happening with the 777X. They also reflect on the Airbus A340-600 after its last major operator, Lufthansa, retired the quadjet.

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AI-Generated Summary

This episode of Check 6 opens at the end of a week marked by two aviation milestones: the FAA's long-awaited certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 10 and Lufthansa's retirement of the A340-600. 

The conversation begins with the MAX 10, which arrives nearly a decade after launch, shaped by the sweeping certification reforms that followed the 2018 and 2019 accidents. Validation by European and Canadian regulators remains ahead, and the airplane enters a market where it rounds out the MAX family at the top end, competing with Airbus's A321neo and attracting orders from carriers across North America, Europe and Asia. A new angle-of-attack system debuts with the aircraft and will be retrofitted across the fleet. The discussion then considers what the lengthy process means for Boeing's next-generation single-aisle project, with lessons learned expected to shorten future timelines.

The focus then shifts to the 777-9, where extended-range operations testing awaits FAA approval, a fifth test aircraft has joined the program, and Lufthansa has removed the type from its summer plans, expecting first delivery in late summer at the earliest. 

That delay explains why the airline's A340-600s have stayed in service so long. The episode closes with reflections on the final A340-600 flights, covering the aircraft's troubled origins, engine partnership tensions, personal travel memories, a galley placement that affects fuel burn, the examples still flying in Iran and Venezuela, and a full, celebratory final flight. The airplane's place in the history of Airbus' long-haul, four-engine airliners also comes briefly into view.

Key Topics:

• The FAA certifies the 737 Max 10
• Remaining validation by European and Canadian regulators
• The Max 10's global order book and place in the market
• The new angle-of-attack system
• Lessons for Boeing's next-generation single-aisle project
• 777-9 testing and delivery delays
• Lufthansa's retirement of the A340-600
• The A340-600's history, quirks and final flights