March 10 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL )

anticipates that the deliveries of the Boeing 737 Max 10

aircraft to the airline could be delayed until as late as 2027,

Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing an interview with the

company CEO Ed Bastian.

Boeing ( BA ) has faced increased scrutiny following a Jan. 5

incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max 9 plane

mid-flight, sparking fresh concerns about the certification of

the already delayed MAX 10 model.

The 737-10, Boeing's ( BA )

largest

Max plane with a maximum seating capacity of 230

passengers, is pending certification by the U.S. Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA).

"We were already anticipating if it came in '25, it'd be

late in the year," Bastian told Bloomberg in an interview

Sunday. "My guess is it will be another year or two beyond

that."

Delta currently doesn't fly any of the MAX variants. The MAX

10 serves as Boeing's ( BA ) response to Airbus' highly successful A321

neo and constitutes more than a fifth of the outstanding MAX

orders.

Delta is "comfortable" with protections it negotiated

against possible delays in its contract to buy the Max 10,

Bastian said, declining to be more specific, according to the

report.

There are "several issues with the Boeing 737 Max "that need

to be addressed," and the carrier is in ongoing discussions with

Boeing ( BA ), Bastion told Bloomberg.

Boeing ( BA ) declined to comment and Delta did not immediately

respond to a request for comment.

The airline announced in July 2022 that it would buy 100

Boeing 737 Max 10 jets worth about $13.5 billion at list prices

and has options to buy another 30 and was looking to begin

receiving the planes in 2025.