An American Airways Boeing 737 MAX Eight flight from Los Angeles lands at Reagan Nationwide Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes had been being grounded by the USA in Washington, March 13, 2019.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
American Airlines is planning to start out coaching its pilots on the still-grounded Boeing 737 Max this November, based on an organization memo despatched Monday.
The jets had been grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two crashes killed 346 individuals, prompting software program and different modifications on the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration goes by way of among the final steps that might enable the planes to fly once more however hasn’t offered a selected timeline. The FAA final month issued the security modifications wanted for the planes to fly once more. Public feedback on these modifications are due Monday.
An American Airways spokesman mentioned that the corporate hasn’t made any “definitive plans” on the Max an that the pilot coaching date could be adjusted based mostly on regulators’ work.
“With the deliberate return to service for our B737 MAX plane within the close to future, we’ll start conducting B737 MAX Particular Coaching for our B737 pilots,” Ameya Kingaonkar, director of flight coaching planning and scheduling, mentioned in a pilot memo, which was seen by CNBC.
Kingaonkar mentioned that the corporate expects to coach all of its 737 pilots on the Max by the top of January.
Southwest and United mentioned they did not have any updates on potential 737 Max pilot coaching.
“We’re awaiting the FAA’s steerage concerning the Max, and that steerage will drive our future timelines,” a Southwest spokesman mentioned.
The 737 Max, whereas fuel-efficient, would return to air journey operating at only a fraction of final yr’s ranges due to the coronavirus pandemic. Final week, Transportation Safety Administration screened 4.9 million individuals at U.S. airports, down about 5% from the earlier week and practically 70% decrease than a yr in the past.
Airline shares had been down sharply on Monday as issues over additional Covid-19 restrictions in Europe amid more outbreaks of the virus.
In afternoon buying and selling, American Airways’ shares had been down greater than 7%, Delta was off 9% and United was down 8%, whereas the S&P 500 was down 2.4%.
