Tag: 737 MAX

African Airlines Order New Airliners

Aviation Week reports that three African carriers “announced orders for new aircraft at Dubai Airshow on Tuesday, demonstrating confidence in the region’s potential for air-traffic growth.” Air Tanzania “announced an order for one Boeing 787-7, one 767-300F and two 737 MAXs”; Ibom Air ordered 10 A220s; and AfriJet ordered three ATR 72-600s.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Boeing Announces Return of MAX BBJ

Aviation Week reports that The Boeing Company “has announced the service debut of the first 737 MAX-based BBJ 737-8 as well as the first new order for the corporate variant since the return of the MAX to commercial service in 2020.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

FAA Orders Operators to Test Switches On 9,300 Boeing 737 Planes for Possible Failures

Reuters reports that on Thursday, The FAA “issued a directive to operators of all Boeing Co 737 series airplanes to conduct inspections to address possible failures of cabin altitude pressure switches.” The order, which “covers 2,502 U.S.-registered airplanes and 9,315 airplanes worldwide,” requires operators “to conduct repetitive tests of the switches and replace them if needed.” The FAA indicated that malfunctioning switches “could result in the cabin altitude warning system not activating if the cabin altitude exceeds 10,000 feet (3,050 m), at which point oxygen levels could become dangerously low.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Southwest Airlines Exercises Option for 34 Additional 737 MAX 7s

Aviation International News reports that Southwest Airlines “has exercised options on another 34 Boeing 737 Max 7s, bringing its firm order total for the smallest Max variant to 234, the company reported Tuesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.” The airline “said it expects to take delivery of all 34 of the jets next year, bringing its 2022 Max 7 delivery total to 64.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

China Deploys Zhurong Rover on Mars

Reuters reported that China’s Zhurong rover “drove down the ramp of its landing capsule on Saturday and onto the surface of Mars, making China the first nation to orbit, land and deploy a land vehicle on its inaugural mission to the Red Planet.” The rover “drove down to the surface of Mars at 10:40 a.m. Beijing time (0240 GMT), according to the rover’s official Chinese social media account.” Zhurong “will move and stop in slow intervals, with each interval estimated to be just 10 metres (33 feet) over three days, according to the official China Space News.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Sources: Boeing Looks to Increase 737 MAX Output in Fall 2022

Reuters reported that The Boeing Company “has drawn up preliminary plans for a fresh sprint in 737 MAX output to as many as 42 jets a month in fall 2022, industry sources said, in a bid to extend its recovery from overlapping safety and COVID-19 crises.” The plans “would lift output beyond an early 2022 target of 31 a month, which the sources said Boeing aims to reach in March.” Boeing “hopes to speed monthly output from single digits now to about 26 a month at the end of 2021 at its Renton factory near Seattle, two of the sources said.” The news “comes as demand for medium-haul jets such as the 737 MAX and competing Airbus A320neo begins to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by widespread vaccinations, especially in the busy U.S. domestic market.”
Full Story (Reuters)

FAA Asks Boeing for New Analysis of Electrical Grounding Problem on 737 MAXs

Reuters reports that the FAA has “asked The Boeing Company to supply fresh analysis and documentation showing numerous 737 MAX subsystems would not be affected by electrical grounding issues first flagged in three areas of the jet in April, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.” The “electrical problems have suspended nearly a quarter of its 737 MAX fleet,” and the call for additional analysis “injects new uncertainty over the timing of when Boeing’s best-selling jetliner would be cleared to fly by” the FAA. The “production-related electrical grounding problem” was first found “in a backup power control unit situated in the cockpit on some recently built airplanes.” The problem “was then found in two other places on the flight deck, including the storage rack where the affected control unit is kept and the instrument panel facing the pilots.
Full Story (Reuters)

FAA Launches Audit into How Minor Design Change Led to Electrical Issue in Some 737 MAX Aircraft

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FAA said Thursday that it has initiated an audit into how a minor design change in the production of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft contributed to a potential electrical issue that led to the grounding of 109 737 MAX aircraft. The agency said regarding the audit that it will assess The Boeing Company’s “process for making minor design changes across its product line, with the goal of identifying areas where the company can improve.”
Full Story (Wall Street Journal – subscription publication)

Aeromexico Buys 24 737s, Four Dreamliners from Boeing

Reuters reported that Grupo Aeromexico “has agreed to purchase 24 of The Boeing Company’s 737-8 and B737-9 MAX planes, and four 787-9 Dreamliners, as part of a deal that should yield an estimated $2 billion in savings, the Mexican airline said on Friday.” The carrier “said that it had managed to negotiate better conditions in some long-term maintenance for its existing fleet and leasing contracts.” The price of the aircraft was not disclosed.
Full Story (New York Times)