Boeing rolled out its first Boeing 737 MAX Tuesday morning in Renton, Wash.

“Today marks another in a long series of milestones that our team has achieved on time, per plan, together,” Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement acknowledging the occasion. “With the rollout of the new 737 MAX – the first new airplane of Boeing’s second century – our team is upholding an incredible legacy while taking the 737 to the next level of performance.”

The 737 MAX is the latest update to Boeing’s popular 737 model, which has become the industry's best-selling jet since it debuted in the 1960s. But the "MAX" update is not an incremental one, but rather a thorough “next generation” modernization of the jet that Boeing hopes will keep the model flying for decades to come.

The MAX iteration of the jet includes larger and more powerful engines. That, in turn, necessitated a significant update to the wing to accommodate the heavier engines. Boeing expects the changes will make the MAX a modern fuel-efficient airplane that is 14% less costly to operate than the current version of the 737.

The 737 is a narrow-body plane that’s become one of the world’s most-popular airplanes for short and medium-length flights. But Boeing’s MAX update to the 737 comes as the U.S. jetmaker finds itself in an increasingly pitched battle with rival Airbus, which has already unveiled its next-generation update to its A320 family of jets that compete directly against Boeing’s 737.

The first of Airbus’ new A320neos – short for “new engine option” – are expected to be delivered to launch customer Qatar Airways within the next few months, possibly weeks. That gives Airbus’ A320neo series a significant head start against Boeing’s 737 MAX, which isn’t scheduled to make its first flight until sometime next year before entering airline fleets sometime in late 2017.

Airbus’ jump in updating the plane type also appears to have helped it narrow the gap on sales of planes in the narrobody market, which Boeing’s 737 had long dominated. But, so far, Airbus’ A320neo family of planes has been outselling Boeing’s 737 MAX models.

Boeing is counting on the MAX to turn that around once the jet finally makes it to market.（Ben Mutzabaugh）