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Air China Boeing 737-8
China is accepting deliveries of Boeing 737 MAXs again following a pause of nearly two months while its regulator said it was evaluating components in the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR).
Xiamen Airlines on July 20 took delivery of a 737-8—the first delivery approved since the CVR review was made public in late May. A 9 Air delivery in early June was approved before the CVR review commenced.
Word of the delivery resumption came from consultancy Aero Analysis Partners/AIR (AAP/AIR). The firm noted the delivery was made from the Boeing/COMAC completion center in Zhoushan, China.
Boeing confirmed to Aviation Week that deliveries have resumed.
The Xiamen delivery does not appear to be a one-off. AAP/AIR reported an uptick in apparent pre-delivery activity with several 737 MAX-family aircraft destined for China.
Two 737-8s, one for Air China and one for Shanghai Airlines, have conducted apparent customer-acceptance flights in recent days, suggesting deliveries are imminent. Several more are conducting pre-delivery flights, the firm added.
The CVR issue raised by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was the latest in a series of hurdles standing between the manufacturer and getting aircraft to Chinese customers. Boeing acknowledged the issue, which affected some widebodies as well, would cut into first-half delivery totals.
The Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database shows Boeing’s undelivered inventory includes about 70 737 MAXs earmarked for Chinese operators.
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