Update, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019
United Airlines has removed the Max from its schedule until March 4, pushing back from its previous expected return date of Jan. 6. The carrier projects about 8,500 flights will be canceled between this month and early March as a result of the extended grounding.
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019
The grounding period for the Boeing 737 Max is nearing the one-year mark as both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines announced a further pushback of its return to service.
American now expects commercial service on the Max will begin on March 5, a delay of its earlier projection of Jan. 16. The carrier plans to run a formal schedule change on Sunday, at which time passengers booked on Max aircraft through March 4 will get an updated reservation. The carrier projects 140 flights per day will be canceled through March 4, which also will include some flights not booked on Max aircraft, as some aircraft will be shifted to cover Max-scheduled routes.
The carrier said it plans to run "exhibition flights" and flights only for American employees and invited guests on Max aircraft before March 5. It then will "gradually phase the Max into our operation" over the month of March.
Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, said it soon will remove the Max from its schedule through March 6 "based on continued uncertainty" of the timing of its return to service. It previously had been removed through Feb. 8. The removal of the Max cuts about 175 weekday flights of Southwest's peak daily 4,000 flights.
Boeing on Monday said it projects the Max's return to commercial service will begin in January and that deliveries of the aircraft to airlines would resume in December, pending an airworthiness directive from the Federal Aviation Administration. It has completed one of five milestones with the FAA necessary for that: a simulator evaluation demonstrating the functionality of the aircraft's software system. It still has four more milestones to clear: conducting simulator sessions with airline pilots, flight tests by FAA pilots, submitting final certification materials to the FAA and regulatory approval of training requirements.
The FAA grounded the Max on March 13, following deadly crashes of the aircraft type operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air.