Boeing's 737 MAX 7 Was Supposed to Be Flying in 2019. The FAA Certified It Monday.

The FAA issued an amended type certificate for the 737 MAX 7 on Monday, clearing the smallest MAX for commercial service.

Boeing said in 2018 that the jet was on schedule for certification and delivery in 2019.

About 30 completed MAX 7s are awaiting delivery, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

When Boeing (NYSE: BA) flew the 737 MAX 7 for the first time in March 2018, the company said the jet was on schedule for certification and delivery in 2019. On Monday, seven years past that target and several crises later, the Federal Aviation Administration finally issued the amended type certificate that clears the plane for commercial service.

Boeing shares rose 8% Monday to close at $233.49, within about 9% of their 52-week high of $254.35 and giving the plane maker a valuation of about $185 billion. The certificate wasn't the main driver, though. Boeing rallied on three things Monday: cheaper oil, a BNP Paribas double upgrade from underperform to outperform, and then the certification.

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The approval matters for a simple, mechanical reason. Plane makers collect most of an airplane's price when they hand it over to the customer, and Boeing has spent years building jets it wasn't allowed to deliver. Certification is what turns that finished inventory into revenue. Monday loosened the bottleneck -- and I'd argue that matters more than Monday's tape suggests.

The FAA described the approval as the product of "almost a decade of extensive review." Before signing off, the agency required updates to the jet's flight-control software and its crew alerting system, plus a redesigned engine anti-ice system. It also said its safety inspectors will stay on site at Boeing's factories to keep monitoring manufacturing.