Which airline flew the first commercial Boeing 737 MAX service in 2017?

Malindo Air flew the first commercial Boeing 737 MAX service in 2017.

The Malaysian airline operated the inaugural 737 MAX 8 passenger flight on May 22, 2017, from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Malindo Air was part of Indonesia’s Lion Air Group, but the airline operating that first scheduled service was Malindo Air itself. This distinction is important because Lion Air later became closely associated with the 737 MAX through its own large fleet and a separate accident.

The 737 MAX is a re-engined version of Boeing’s 737 family, using CFM International LEAP-1B engines and aerodynamic changes such as split-tip winglets. The first commercial operator and the launch customer are not always described identically in casual summaries, so the airline’s name should be stated precisely. The first flight occurred before the worldwide grounding of the type in 2019, following two fatal accidents and subsequent investigations.