Virgin Australia has cut its Boeing 737 MAX orders by about half but remains focused on narrowbody operations, signaling that a return to widebody flying is still on the agenda but remains a long-term prospect.
Brazilian LCC GOL is on track to be the first airline to re-introduce Boeing 737 MAX-family aircraft on revenue routes on Dec. 9, part of the airline’s plan to add more cost-friendly capacity for its upcoming peak demand season.
American Airlines COO David Seymour talked to Lee Ann Shay onboard a non-commercial Boeing 737 MAX flight from Tulsa to Dallas Ft. Worth on Dec. 2, in advance of the aircraft’s return to revenue service on Dec. 29.
Somon Air hopes to tie up a deal to add the Boeing 737 MAX to its fleet before the end of 2020, which would allow the Dushanbe, Tajikistan-based carrier to expand its network further east and west.
Europe’s largest LCC Ryanair placed a follow-on order for 75 Boeing 737-8200s on Dec. 3, in what is the first major commitment for the MAX since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. FAA’s decision to unground the aircraft.
Chinese airlines generally expect the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to withdraw its grounding order on the Boeing 737 MAX no later than March 2021, industry sources said.
EASA moved one step closer to issuing its own parameters for the Boeing 737 MAX’s return by formally announcing it would not adopt the FAA’s final airworthiness directive (AD) containing its requirements.
Copa Airlines plans to have at least two of its Boeing 737-9s back in service by year-end, suggesting its regulator is poised to approve the grounded model’s return and position the carrier to be among the first airlines to return MAX-family aircraft to revenue flying.
The FAA’s finalization of required changes to the Boeing 737 MAX and its formal reversal of a flight ban if the changes are implemented clears the way for U.S. operators to get their grounded aircraft back in service.
U.S. carriers announced plans to return the Boeing 737 MAX to commercial service following news of the model’s ungrounding, but time lines for resuming commercial operations vary.
The FAA on Nov. 18 rescinded its ban on Boeing 737 MAX operations, releasing text of an airworthiness directive that codifies the steps airlines must follow before their MAXs can fly again.
The FAA plans to wrap up its review of Boeing’s proposed 737 MAX changes “in the coming days,” clearing the way for airlines to begin software modifications and pilot training needed to get the grounded model back into revenue service, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said.
As regulators and Boeing work to finalize 737 MAX pilot training and return-to-service requirements, several operators of the grounded model are growing more confident that they will have some of their newest Boeing narrowbodies carrying revenue passengers by early 2021 at the latest.
Russian LCC Pobeda no longer plans to take delivery of 30 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbodies for which it had signed a letter of intent, according to the airline’s CEO Andrey Kalmykov.
