07:41 AM EDT, 05/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Boeing ( BA ) hopes to get two new variants of the 737 MAX certified this year to help fill up its $500 billion backlog, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said in an interview with Aviation Week published Thursday.

"The near-term priorities are, from a commercial perspective, getting the current development programs through the certification process," Ortberg said. "We're hoping to get the two variants of the 737 MAX wrapped up this year so we can start deliveries of the -7 and the -10, two airplanes that are very, very important to our customers and our backlog."

The company is also prioritizing testing development of the 777-9, which Ortberg described as "the largest dual-engine widebody in the market."

"I think that's going to be a game-changing platform for us," he said.

Ortberg said that new Trump administration tariffs of 10% are impacting the prices of its wings and fuselages in Japan and Italy. "We're not in a position to pass those along to our customers," he said, adding that "luckily" 80% of the company's supply chain comes out of the US.

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