MAX IS BACK IN AIR
First flight since ban
The Boeing 737 MAX made its first commercial US flight Tuesday since being grounded in March 2019 following two crashes that killed a total of 346 people.
American Airlines Flight 718 landed at La Guardia Airport at 1:08 p.m after departing Miami at 10:40 a.m.
The plane was cleared to take the skies by the Federal Aviation Administration in November, prompting American and Boeing to seek to reassure passengers it’s safe to fly.
“We’re flying on a Boeing 737 Max,” Capt. Sean Roskey announced over the plane’s PA system, to some applause from passengers, according to CNBC, which had a reporter on the flight.
“We have the utmost confidence in this aircraft. As a matter of fact, my wife is on board.”
It’s unclear whether passengers who purchased tickets for Tuesday’s shuttle between New York and Miami knew they would be boarding a Boeing 737 MAX.
A recent Reuters/IPSOS poll shows that while the memory of the crashes has faded over the years, more than half of passengers are still wary of taking the jet when reminded of them.
“If a customer doesn’t want to fly on a 737 MAX aircraft, they won’t have to,” American Airlines vowed on a Web page dedicated to questions about the plane’s safety.
The airline promised to rebook skittish customers on the next available flight “free of charge” or “cancel their trip” in exchange for “travel credits redeemable with American Airlines.”
The first 737 Max crash involved a Lion Air plane in Indonesia in October 2018, killing 189 people. It was followed five months later by an Ethiopian Airlines crash that resulted in the death of all 157 people on board.
Software glitches have been blamed for the crashes, and the jet was only approved to fly again last month after Boeing agreed to software upgrades and new safeguards on the flight-control system linked to the fatal crashes.
American Airlines currently has 31 737 MAX aircraft after taking delivery of seven more jets since the FAA lifted its safety ban, including one on Monday, and the company plans to gradually reintroduce the plane to its fleet.
The airline said at a briefing Tuesday morning that 1,400 pilots have received new training for the MAX and that all of its pilots rated to fly the aircraft will be trained by March 2021.
Shares of Boeing ended the day up 0.07 percent to $216.25 a share.