American Airlines Relaunches Boeing 737 Max... First in the Aviation Industry

Boeing 737 to Operate on Miami-New York Route Starting December 29

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] American Airlines in the United States will be the first airline to resume operations of the Boeing 737 Max model. The Boeing 737 Max was grounded worldwide after two crash disasters that resulted in 346 casualties.

According to CNBC on the 2nd (local time), American Airlines announced that it will deploy the Boeing 737 Max on the Miami-New York route starting December 29. On the same day, ahead of resuming operations of the Boeing 737 Max, American Airlines conducted a demonstration flight carrying employees and reporters from Dallas, Texas to the maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. American Airlines is expected to be the first airline to operate commercially after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the operation of the Boeing 737.

American Airlines reportedly began pilot training this week. Additionally, American Airlines stated that it will specify on its website that the aircraft is a Boeing 737 Max when passengers book tickets. American Airlines owns 24 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Earlier, the FAA granted permission to resume flights of the Boeing 737 Max about 20 months after grounding the aircraft in November. Although the FAA approval was obtained, it was widely expected that resuming commercial flights immediately would be difficult. This is because pilot training and safety improvements require FAA certification, which is expected to take at least 30 days.

CNN reported, "There are 59 airlines worldwide that own 387 Boeing 737 Max aircraft," and "the certification process will take a considerable amount of time."

United Airlines announced that it will operate the Boeing 737 model in the first quarter of next year, and Southwest Airlines said it will do so after April next year.

Meanwhile, the Boeing 737 Max was known as Boeing’s flagship product due to its excellent fuel efficiency and transport capacity, but it became embroiled in controversy over aircraft defects after a Lion Air aircraft crashed into the Java Sea in October 2018. Five months later, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max also crashed, resulting in 346 casualties and leading to a worldwide ban on flights of this model.