A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max airplane taking off in December 2019
Credit: Ted S. Warren /AP
Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jet series is set to return to the skies on Tuesday with the first major commercial test flight for the company since the aircraft was grounded after two crashes killed 346 people.
American Airlines is set to relaunch passenger flights on the Boeing 737 Max 8 on Tuesday morning with a trip from Miami to New York, the first step in its plans to gradually reintroduce its 737 Max fleet.
The US airline has worked hard to restore passenger confidence in the aircraft since US safety regulators announced in November they had cleared the 737 Max to fly again.
Earlier this month, American Airlines said it was planning to host tours of the Boeing 737 Max jets for its customers as well as calls with its pilots in the coming weeks to assuage any doubts among prospective passengers.
American Airlines is informing customers that they are choosing to fly on the Max aircraft before they confirm their ticket purchase and the carrier said it would re-book customers who do not feel comfortable about the aircraft.
"No one has to go on the Max if they don’t want to, but if you want to, it’s there," American’s Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said at a media event aimed at promoting confidence in the 737 Max earlier this month.
The flight — the first by a major global airline since the fleet was grounded in 2019 — represents an important first test for Boeing.
If passengers are reluctant to book flights on the aircraft, or get cold feet at the gate, the aircraft manufacturer could potentially face losing billions of dollars in cancelled orders.
Boeing is already thought to have lost around $18 billion (£14bn) while the jets were grounded on top of a large compensation bill for the crashes.
Regulators worldwide grounded the Boeing 737 Max in March 2019 after two relatively new jets in the fleet crashed within five months of each other.
A Lion Air 737 Max killed 189 people in October 2018 when it nosedived into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta. In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed minutes after taking off in Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers on board.
A faulty flight-control system that forced down the nose of the plane was implicated in both crashes.
Part of the wreckage at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302
Credit: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
Boeing has made software changes to the fleet to ensure pilots have greater control over the planes and other alterations which the US Federal Aviation Authority approved in mid-November, ending the 20-month safety ban.
All airlines must complete the safety changes and introduce new pilot training before taking passengers. An incident involving a Boeing 737 Max last week has heightened scrutiny around the jet’s return.
An Air Canada aircraft was undergoing testing on December 22, before its planned reintroduction, when it was forced to make an unscheduled landing after suffering engine trouble.
American Airlines is the first US carrier to resume commercial flights on the 737 Max and held a media event earlier this month in which it flew employees, senior executives and journalists on 737 Max to boost confidence in the aircraft.
As well as the software changes, Boeing’s chief executive, Dave Calhoun, has said the company has improved its safety practices and culture as well as since the fatal crashes.
"We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations," he said. "These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality and integrity."
Early indications suggest that most commercial passengers are unconcerned about the prospect of travelling on the aircraft.
At the time of writing, around 100 seats appear to have been booked on Tuesday’s 10.32 am flight AA718 from Miami to New York’s LaGuardia airport.
A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday suggested that Americans are less familiar with the two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes than they were last year.
Just 39 per cent of respondents said they were familiar with the two crashes, compared to about 50 per cent in a May 2019 poll.
However, when respondents were told about the aircraft’s safety issues, 57 per cent said they were not likely to fly in a Boeing 737 Max, while 37 per cent say they would be likely to fly in it once it has been in the air for six months or more.
In response to the poll, a Boeing spokesman said: "We continue to work closely with global regulators and our customers to support the safe return of the fleet to service around the world".
Of the other US carriers that owned the 737 Max before its grounding, United Airlines plans to fly the jet again in February and Southwest Airlines — the world’s largest 737 Max operator — in the second quarter of 2021.
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Brazil’s largest airline, became the first carrier to restart 737 Max flights this month, followed by Grupo Aeromexico.
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