Facing a deadline that would require major changes to uncertified 737 MAX variants, Boeing continues to argue the status quo—and keeping the family as similar as possible—is the safer course of action.
Max Kownatzki tells Routes about his baptism of fire after becoming SunExpress CEO at the start of the pandemic and why the airline is now growing its network.
Boeing will not get the 737-10 certified in 2022, but it is confident that a looming deadline that would require a major flight-deck change will not apply to the largest 737 MAX variant.
Santo Domingo-based Arajet, billing itself as the Caribbean’s first ULCC, plans to launch services in May and will grow its fleet to as many as 40 aircraft, bolstered by an order for 20 737 MAXs revealed March 14.
Panama’s Copa Holdings has the ability to switch to different types within its Boeing 737 MAX order book and has no plans to take deliveries of the 737-10 in the near future.
Ethiopian Airlines marked the return of its Boeing 737 MAX operations with the completion of a four-hour-long special flight around the nation with guests on board.
The startup—which plans to have a fleet of almost 50 aircraft over the next seven years—is looking to enter markets already served by Air Canada, WestJet and Flair.
Input from whistleblowers underscore the need for reform of FAA product certification oversight, with emphasis on ensuring company-employed experts working on behalf of the agency remain free of undue pressure.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has issued an airworthiness directive (AD) outlining aircraft-specific parameters for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to service, essentially mandating the same series of measures required by its U.S. counterparts and, in one case, European and Canadian regulators.
