Tag: Boeing 737 MAX

United Airlines to Resume Flights With 737 MAX In February 2021

Live and Let’s Fly reported that United Airlines will make its first passenger flight with a Boeing 737 MAX since the global grounding in February of 2021. After “months of preparation,” United “will base its restarted 737 MAX service out of two hubs, Denver (DEN) and Houston (IAH).” In a message to employees, the airline said, “Safety has been and always will be our top priority, and it’s something we will never compromise for any reason. As we said when we announced the FAA certification of the MAX last month, United won’t fly the MAX until we have completed more than 1,000 hours of work on every aircraft, including FAA-mandated changes to the flight software, additional pilot training, multiple test flights and meticulous technical analysis.”
Full Story (Live and Let’s Fly)

NTSB Issues Warning on Possible Use of Suspect Rudder Control Parts by Foreign Operators on Boeing 737s

Reuters reports, “The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has said more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 airplanes may be using planes with rudder components that could pose safety risks, though it did not identify which airlines could be affected. The NTSB on Thursday issued urgent safety recommendations about the potential for a jammed rudder control system on some 737 airplanes after a February incident involving a United Airlines flight.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Akasa Air Close to 150-Plane Order from Boeing

Reuters reports that Akasa Air “is set to close an order for around 150 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody planes, two sources said, its latest bid to tap the travel boom in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.” Contract negotiations “are ongoing and a deal is expected to be announced at Wings India, the country’s largest civil aviation event scheduled for Jan. 18-21.” Akasa “is India’s newest airline and has garnered market share of 4% since it started flying in 2022, against IndiGo’s 60% and Tata Group airlines’ combined 26%.”
Full Story (Reuters)

 

FAA Issues Safety Warning for 737 MAX Anti-Icing Systems

Economic Times (IND) reported that the Federal Aviation Administration is warning airlines to limit the use of an anti-icing system on Boeing’s 737 MAX jets in dry air to avoid overheating engine-housing components which could cause them to break away from the plane, with the finding affecting CFM International LEAP-1B engines used on all versions of the aircraft.

Boeing Tallies Delivery of 46 737s in November

Reuters reports that The Boeing Company “delivered 46 narrowbody 737s in November, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.” Last month’s total “brings Boeing’s single-aisle deliveries up to 351 units for the year so far, leaving the US planemaker about 25 planes away from making its revised target for at least 375-400 737 deliveries this year.” Last month’s 737 deliveries “included 45 MAX planes and 1 737 NG-based P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, sources said.”
Full Story (Reuters)

 

NTSB to Investigate Engine Fire on Boeing 737 MAX

The AP reported that the NTSB “will investigate an engine fire that was discovered on a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max after the plane landed in Newark, New Jersey.” One of the plane’s engines caught on fire after the plane completed a flight from Fort Lauderdale. No one was injured. The Boeing Company “declined to comment, referring inquiries to the NTSB and United, which said it too was investigating.”
Full Story (Associated Press)

China to Consider Test Flights On Boeing 737 MAX

Bloomberg reports that “Chinese aviation officials” are considering conducting a “validation flight” for the Boeing 737 MAX, “a step toward lifting the plane’s grounding in that nation after more than two years, according to people familiar with the matter.” The Boeing Company “is preparing to send a delegation of around 35 pilots and engineers to meet with regulators in late July after they undergo weeks of quarantine, one of the people said.” Following the test flight, Chinese regulators could “take many months” to finalize their inspections of the jet, “particularly if there is no break in the heightened trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.”
Full Story (Bloomberg)

Australia Lifts Grounding of Boeing 737 MAX

Reuters reports that Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority lifted its grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX on Friday, becoming the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to clear the jet to fly. Authority head Graeme Crawford said, “We…are confident that the aircraft are safe.” While no Australian airline flies the 737 MAX, Singapore Airlines and Fiji Airways had used the 737 MAX on flights to Australia prior to the jet’s grounding.
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing 737 MAX to Resume European Flights as SmartWings Plans Service

Bloomberg reports that the Boeing 737 MAX “will resume flights in Europe after a near two-year grounding following two fatal crashes, with Czech leisure airline SmartWings AS planning to bring back its seven-plane fleet.” SmartWings “will restart operations this month and aims to return all of the aircraft to service by the summer, it said in an email Tuesday.” The European Union Aviation Safety Agency cleared the aircraft to resume flights last month.
Full Story (Bloomberg)

United to Return Boeing 737 MAX to Service on Thursday

Bloomberg reports that United Airlines is scheduled to resume flights on the Boeing 737 MAX on Thursday, with “a total of two dozen flights” from Denver and Houston. United’s actions are part of the “gradual and so far uneventful return of The Boeing Company’s best-selling plane after a 20-month flying ban.” United is planning to operate 566 flights on the 737 MAX in February before increasing to 2,000 in March. Seven airlines have a total of 3,996 flights scheduled on the 737 MAX this month with another 8,700 planned for March.
Full Story (Bloomberg)

Boeing Increases 737 MAX Production Rate

Reuters reports, “Boeing expects to stabilize 737 MAX production at 38 airplanes a month over the next couple of months, its Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Quality Doug Ackerman told reporters on Tuesday. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration capped output at 38 airplanes a month after a mid-air panel blowout in a nearly new 737 in January 2024.”
Full Story (Reuters)

 

Japan’s Skymark Airlines to Purchase Six 737 Max 8s

Flight Global reports, “Skymark Airlines is to acquire six Boeing 737 Max 8s, in an orderbook top-up for fleet renewal purposes. The deal, which was approved by the Japanese carrier’s board on 22 May, is valued at Y143.4 billion ($997 million) at list prices, and includes the purchase of CFM International engines.”
Full Story (Flight Global)

Boeing Will Increase 737 MAX Production Rates ‘Very Soon’

Reuters reports that Stan Deal, The Boeing Company’s commercial aircraft business leader, said the company will increase 737 MAX production above the current rate of 31 jets per month “very soon” and is completing final submissions for certification of the 737 MAX 7 by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing Delivers 60 Aircraft in June

Reuters reports, “U.S. aeronautics company Boeing (BA.N), said on Tuesday that it delivered 60 airplanes in June, a 27% increase compared to a year earlier … Boeing booked 116 new orders in June, including 54 737 MAXs and 62 787s.”
Full Story (Reuters)