This week, Boeing completed test flights on its troublesome 737 Max aircraft to demonstrate that it can fly safely with new flight control software. The Max was punished in March 2019 after a couple of fatal accidents, in Indonesia and Ethiopia, that killed 346 people.
Even when the company began testing the planes for recertification, a federal inspector general’s report said Boeing had kept information from federal regulators about the faulty computer system that downed the two planes during the plane’s initial approval process.
The Max is the newest model of the Boeing 737, a type of aircraft with many variants throughout the decades. More than 10,000 737s have been built. The Max was launched in 2017 in four lengths to accommodate up to 230 seats. The Max has larger and more fuel efficient engines than older models.
If the Federal Aviation Administration is convinced that Boeing has corrected the problems that caused the accidents, the planes will return to service, but a schedule has not been announced.
The agency said in a statement that “it will lift the grounding order only after we are satisfied that the plane meets certification standards.”
Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun flew on the plane in February. FAA chief and longtime Delta pilot Stephen M. Dickson told a Senate committee that he would fly the Max himself and must be satisfied that he would get his family on board before lifting the order to grounding.
Industry experts said it could still be several months before the agency and its counterparts in Europe, Canada and Brazil give the green light to certify the Max, possibly as late as 2021. Overall, this probably means the Max won’t be back in service until this fall at the earliest.
Here’s what travelers who might be contemplating flying again right now need to know.
What happens when the FAA certifies the aircraft?
Airlines need to prepare the planes and their pilots, and the FAA needs to pass a new pilot training regime.
The landed planes are parked in aircraft storage facilities across the United States. They undergo periodic maintenance even while grounded. When the FAA gives its approval, an airline’s maintenance crews and pilots will fly the plane (with no passengers on board) to the airline’s maintenance facilities, said R. Eric Jones, associate professor of Aviation Maintenance Sciences at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and an experienced Airline Maintenance Manager. There, the aircraft will undergo extensive system maintenance and evaluations, including avionics and hydraulic systems, and wing and landing gear. “Assuming no abnormalities are found, it could take anywhere from two weeks to a month to return a parked Max to operational service,” said Professor Jones.
Boeing has recommended to the FAA that pilots undergo flight simulator training combined with computer training “before safely returning MAX to service.” This training could be similar to the intense annual checks that every airline pilot undergoes, regardless of which plane they fly. It could take several days per pilot on a tablet, along with simulating the new flight control system in a full-motion flight simulator. The details of the training have not been announced. Many pilots who fly the Max have been trained in flight simulators every three months since the plane was grounded to maintain their knowledge of how it flies.
Which airlines fly the Max?
Since its launch, Boeing has delivered 370 Max aircraft to 47 customers worldwide.
Southwest Airlines was Max’s largest US operator, with 34 in its fleet. American Airlines is 24 and United Airlines is 14. Delta Air Lines is the only major US airline that has not ordered the plane to date. While the Max represents a small percentage of these carriers’ fleets, hundreds more were in order before the accidents.
Internationally, dozens of airlines are slated to receive the Max in the coming years. In North America, Air Canada, WestJet and Aeroméxico fly the plane and have orders for more. Ryanair, the low-cost European airline, will eventually fly more than 100 Max aircraft.
What routes does the Max normally fly?
The Max is the latest generation of the Boeing 737, which was designed to fly medium-range flights like New York to Austin or San Francisco to Chicago. Neither flies transatlantic.
With Covid-19 slowing down plane travel, what’s the rush?
The Max is approximately 17 percent more fuel efficient than its older Boeing 737 siblings. Fuel economy is enormous for liquidity-strapped airlines. Airlines want to deploy the planes as soon as they can, even during this period of low travel demand.
How can I know when I am booking if the plane will be a Max?
When you book your ticket online, airlines show you the type of plane scheduled to fly the route. You may need to click a link to reveal this information. For example, American Airlines previously listed the Max on the reservation page of its website as the “7M8” aircraft, which stands for Boeing 737 MAX 8. (There are 7, 8, 9, and 10 numbered variants, depending on the capacity of the seating). Southwest has a website that allows you to identify which aircraft you are scheduled to fly. However, the aircraft that is scheduled to fly a route can change for countless reasons, ranging from routine maintenance issues to bad weather, causing network delays.
Has any other commercial aircraft been successfully rehabilitated?
Aviation authorities punished the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for four months in 2013 for smoking lithium-ion batteries in two separate incidents. For a time, passengers were scared of flying the then-new plane. That moment has passed a long time; Dreamliner is key to the international routes of many airlines. But the Dreamliner had not been involved in fatal accidents.
How do I know if I am flying in a Max?
If you’re waiting at the door and you see your plane, look for large, pointed fins that extend above and below the tips of the wings called fins. Winglets come in all kinds of similar designs, but the Max stand out.
Will the airlines allow me to rebook or get a refund if I don’t want to fly the Max?
Rebook? Yes. Refund? No. US operators have yet to announce policies related to the return of Max’s service. However, in a statement this week to The New York Times, a United Airlines spokeswoman said the company “will be transparent, and will communicate in advance, with our customers who are reserved to fly on a Max plane, will rebook to those who don’t want to fly in a Max without charge. ” Expect other airlines to follow United’s lead.
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