Airline rumours suggest that the 737 MAX could be re-certified as soon as June. Doug Parker told the airline’s employees he’d be on the first of these Boeing planes when they take to the air once again. United’s CEO Oscar Munoz told media he’d take the first flight too.
Will this reassure the travelling public?
The US FAA is reportedly wanting to see recertification soon, while foreign regulators seem less convinced. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he expects the plane to fly in ‘weeks, not months’ but the FAA wants other world regulators to sign off on the plane, to help convince the public that the plane is safe.
Foreign regulators are less keen and are more likely to be conservative following the two disasters, none want to be blamed if another crash happens.
The US government is ready to see the 737 MAX re-certified by the end of June, just weeks from now, as Parker predicted. The question is, will agencies around the world sign off this quickly?.
Once they have recertification, airlines will work bring the plane back into their schedule, which makes late-August or early September a possible date for the planes relaunch.
Will You Fly The B737 MAX?
Passengers are concerned about engineer strike action on American Airlines this summer, but many are more concerned about a B737 MAX rolling up to their departure gate. Many passengers don’t trust the FAA and don’t want to be faced with the question, should I get on?
If you don’t want to risk flying on a B737 MAX and if you don’t want to get caught up in strike action, it may be wise to avoid flying American for the summer. Southwest says they won’t charge passengers to change their flights to avoid the MAX once it goes back into service, so they look a pretty safe bet. Delta doesn’t fly any B737 MAX planes.
If you regularly read our blog you will know that one of our reporters flew on the doomed Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX just before it crashed. He certainly didn’t have the foresight that it would fall out of the sky, even though the Lionair plane had crashed before he flew. He’s just one passenger who is not keen to get back onto one of these planes.
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