On December 3, according to people familiar with the matter quoted by Bloomberg, United Airlines is expected to receive the first 737 MAX after it was approved for a return flight.
Another good news for Boeing is that Brazilian Gore Airlines said it would resume commercial flights of the 737 MAX on December 10, more than two weeks before American Airlines resumed the 737 MAX. Grupo Aeromexico SAB and Panama’s Copa Holdings SA are also planning to resume 737 MAX flights soon.
American Airlines has launched its first 737 MAX passenger test flight on Wednesday local time. About 90 people, including journalists, flight attendants and crew, wear masks to take the test flight. During the test flight, the plane departed from Dallas, Texas, United States, and landed safely after an hour’s voyage. In Tulsa, Oklahoma.
At present, regulators in the United States, Europe and Brazil have approved software revisions and new pilot training courses for the 737 MAX. Among them, after a long technical review of Boeing’s software upgrade, U.S. and Brazilian regulators lifted the flight ban on the 737 MAX last month, and European security officials gave preliminary approval.
While the coronavirus pandemic has depressed demand for new aircraft, Boeing’s major customers are still favoring single-channel jets, which is Boeing’s vital source of cash.
This also allows Boeing to start formulating its once-powerful 737 plan, and it is reported that Boeing is preparing to obtain a follow-up order for the 737 MAX model from one of its largest customers, Ryanair Holdings Plc, on Thursday local time; 737 M AX’s largest operator, American Southwest Airlines, has expressed interest in expanding its orders.
“When core customers come back to buy more, that’s a good thing for Boeing,” said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
By the close of December 2nd local time, Boeing’s share price rose 5.1% to $223.85 per share. The stock has fallen 31% so far this year, the second worst decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
“We continue to work closely with global regulators and customers to get the 737 MAX back to service safely,” said Jessica Kowal, a Boeing spokesman.
Boeing has not delivered any 737 MAX aircraft since the grounding. As deliveries begin, Boeing will begin to clear the inventory of approximately 450 aircraft built and stored during the flight ban.
A spokesman for Boeing said United Airlines intends to take over eight 737 MAX aircraft this month.
Brazilian Gore plans to gradually resume flights in the next few weeks after integrating each 737 MAX aircraft into its fleet through technical flights; Air Mexico International said it is working with regulators, which are considering approval of 737 MAX aircraft.
In addition, Copa Holdings SA’s executives said in a financial conference call on November 19 that the company expects to fly at least two 737 MAX aircraft before the end of the year. At the time, the company said it would take about two weeks to complete the maintenance of the storage aircraft.
Jose Antonio Montero, chief financial officer of Copa Holdings SA, said in an email that the company has six 737 MAX aircraft in Panama and is waiting for another seven 737 M. AX aircraft delivery. He declined to comment on the plan to resume the 737 MAX flight.
From October 2018 to March 2019, Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft suffered two crashes in five months, causing 346 deaths. Both air crashes were related to the wrong activation of automatic stall software on the aircraft. The plane was subsequently grounded worldwide.
In December 2019, Boeing announced that Boeing would suspend production of the 737 MAX from January 2020 because the certification of 737 MAX aircraft will be extended until 2020.
On May 27, 2020, Boeing announced that it had resumed production of the 737 MAX at a lower production rate at its Renton plant in Washington, United States.
On June 29, 2020, after reviewing the manufacturer’s proposed modification to improve safety, the FAA approved the start of Boeing 737 MAX test flights, which meant that regulators finally endorsed the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft safety improvement proposal.
In July 2020, the FAA said it had completed a certified test flight of the 737 MAX with Boeing, which was a key milestone for the aircraft to be re-entered service.
On November 18, 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on its official website that it approved the Boeing 737 MAX to resume.
On November 24, 2020, European aviation regulators granted a draft approval for the Boeing 737 MAX, which will pave the way for the aircraft to officially resume in Europe in January next year.
So far, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has expressed its position on whether the 737 MAX will be re-flyed. There is no timetable for the re-flight of the aircraft, and the previous three principles remain unchanged: the aircraft’s design changes must be approved for airworthiness; the pilot must be fully and effectively trained; and the findings of the two accidents must be It must be clear and the improvement measures are effective.
