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AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER BOEING said it expects the 737 MAX airplane, which was grounded after two crashes killed 346 people, to resume flying in January.
In a statement, the group said it still hopes to receive certification next month from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing it to resume MAX deliveries to airline customers before the end of the year.
“In parallel, we are working towards final validation of the updated training requirements, which must occur before the MAX returns to commercial service, and which we now expect to begin in January,” Boeing said.
It had previously planned for the model to resume flying in December.
The new timetable was well received by the market, with Boeing shares increasing 4.7 percent by around 2.30pm on the New York Stock Exchange.
The 737 MAX planes have been grounded globally since mid-March, following the deadly Lion Air crash of October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March this year.
The grounding has dragged on far beyond initial expectations as Boeing had to upgrade systems and faced questions from regulators and politicians over the plane.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines on Friday pushed back their timeframe again for resuming flights on the 737 MAX until early March.
Southwest, the largest MAX customer at the time of the grounding with 34 of the aircraft, is currently doing without 175 flights per day out of a total of up to 4,000 while the planes are out of commission.
Companies also need to take into account the time needed to train pilots and install modified software on the aircraft before they can re-enter regular service.
Boeing said Monday it has completed the first of five milestones it must meet before returning the MAX to service: a multi-day simulator evaluation with the FAA to “ensure the overall software system performs its intended function.”.
Crisis
The group said it still needs to run a separate, multi-day simulator session with airline pilots to “assess human factors and crew workload under various test conditions,” before FAA pilots conduct a certification flight of the final updated software.
Boeing has notably changed the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), an anti-stall mechanism that pilots in both fatal crashes had struggled to control as the jets headed downwards.
Boeing will then submit to the FAA all the necessary materials to support software certification.
The final key step before the resumption of commercial flights is an evaluation by a multi-regulatory body to validate training requirements.
After this, Boeing said, a report will be released for a public comment period, followed by final approval of the training.
“At each step of this process, Boeing has worked closely with the FAA and other regulators,” the group said.
The 737 MAX crisis is one of the most serious in Boeing’s 103-year history, and has already cost the company tens of billions of dollars, triggering multiple investigations by US authorities and a cascade of complaints from victims’ families.
Driven by a 67% drop in commercial aircraft deliveries in the third quarter, Boeing’s sales plunged 20% to $19.98 billion and its profits halved to $1.17 billion.
And while Boeing hopes for a resumption of commercial 737 MAX flights in early 2020, uncertainty still looms.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had estimated in early November that it did not expect a resumption of MAX flights in Europe before the first quarter of 2020 as it conducts its own test flights, assesses pilot training requirements and coordinates with EU member states.
The FAA, which has come in for widespread criticism for entrusting certification of important systems of the aircraft to Boeing, has promised a thorough review before certification.
Pilot training remains a contentious point, with Europe and Canada requiring training on flight simulators while American pilots will only have to go through faster computer-based training.
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Dinosaurs voting for extinction.
@theseadoc thinking they are going back to the glory days of the empire.
@Brian Madden: jesus, grown adults calling themselves the star chamber, the UK is electing some beauties these days.
@Rayzor: This is not a lie, 100% true. They call themselves individually amongst themselves the ‘Star Wizards’, I wish I was joking but I am not.
@Gary Garden: Sure it’s hard to believe that Mark Francois is actually a real person and not a Harry Enfield character.
@Rayzor: Very true haha
On a general note the Conservative party particularly their cabinet and the right wing are really pitiful, a combination of air heads masquerading as ministers and then the old empire enthusiasts. Go Global Britain lol it’s such a comedy show.
@Gary Garden: can’t be doing to bad if they’re the 5th richest country in the whole entire world
@Michael Patrick: Hello Westy, they wont be in top 10 soon.
@Gary Garden: They have the 5th biggest economy but on a per capita basis they are miles down the table, 26th on GDP(PPP) and 20th GDP(nominal). Ireland is within the top 4 of both. They also have the wealthiest part of Northern europe in London but also 9 of the 10 most impoverished parts.
@Rayzor: Hi Rayzor, I lived and worked in the UK for over 6 years. I know where the wealth and poverty is quite well. This is Brexit and the only outcome is the rich will get richer and I dont need to say the rest. The average Brit is über gullible and just need to hear a posh and plump voice to believe they are as a country going in the right direction. They are in for a rude awakening now. No voice on the big table, US under Biden isnt going to prioritise the ‘special relationship’ BS which is just Anglo Saxon nostalgia by the way. They are now a minnow, they wonr even draw in FDI as they dont have EU labour market access. Its beyond mindblowingly stupid what they’ve dont.
@Gary Garden: hello spa who you calling westy
I think the differences between Theresa’s proposals and what has now been agreed are very small. The old Tory empire worshippers have now seen a little of what they could have expected if they had achieved the hard Brexit they so craved. The motorways to the ports blocked and no one in the EU too worried about their great friends in UK and best of all Donald dumped from power and replaced by a politician who knows that world prosperity is built on cooperation and not isolation. Good man Joe B.
@JG: where can I find an honest comparison between the Teresa deal and the current deal?
So let me get this straight – the ERG (who wanted Brexit so the UK could “reclaim its sovereignty from the EU”), are now saying that the Brexit deal is good because it “preserves the UK’s sovereignty”.
Last time I checked, “preserves” means to maintain something in its current or original state – in other words, preserving UK sovereignty is keeping what’s already in place….
@Brian: Preserve can refer to the future too
@Thomas O’ Donnell: preserve can be jam
I don’t know which is worse. Being a Brexiteer or a member of the Republican Party in the USA.
@Tim Quigley: you don’t know much.
It’s their decision and they have followed through. We’ll only know if it’s a good or Abad thing in years to come. But good luck to them.
@Sean Oige: Yes, they might need a bit of luck.
Dup party unmangling itself from the front wheel of the bus after it getting chucked under it.a party that wanted brexit now votes against brexit,haha
@reginald: mistake they made was not backing May’s deal. If they had they be no border north/south or east/west. Current deal has certainly weakened the Union.
The concept of sovereignty and the reality of the Fishing aspect of the Brexit deal are mutually exclusive and it would be disingenuous to claim otherwise. Scottish fishermen are rightly concerned at the very suggestion of having taken back “sovereignty “ given that the status quo ante shall pertain for 5.5 long years and even then the EU has an option to resile from the whole Agreement should a negotiated access to UK waters not be agreed. Even if a further Agreement can be negotiated it’s terms will be slanted in favour of the French fleet under pain of the sort of disruption witnessed at Dover in the past few days. Better to have forced Macron’s hand but when the Brits witnessed the chais at Dover the writing was on the wall. Fishing was a zero sum game in terms of hard economics
Those knobs would vote for anything
That black microphone really looks like a horn
oh course they are happy – the right of the UK to control it’s financial services and retain their tax havens was a priority to the offshore wealthy I understand. That it seems was worth it over an EU – UK financial services agreement.
Actually, not the worst outcome for Ireland by any means.. sorry about the fish – but this makes interesting reading https://ec.europa.eu/ireland/news/key-eu-policy-areas/fisheries_en
Them knobs would vote for anything.
Its pretty ironic that one of the stated reasons for the ERG supporting this deal is, that they don’t see it as binding, to the extent that they can choose to renege on it as soon as it pleases a “robust government” to do so and then trade under WTO rules and tariffs.
have your say