United Airlines Removes MAX From Schedules Until June
December 20 2019 - 12:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Alison Sider
United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it won't fly Boeing Co.'s 737
MAX until June, the latest setback to efforts to get the aircraft
flying again after two fatal crashes.
The MAX's return to service has become more uncertain and
airlines' confidence that the aircraft will be ready to return to
flight soon is eroding. United said Friday that it would pull the
MAX from its schedules until June 4, after previously anticipating
resuming flights in March of next year.
Southwest Airlines Co. and American Airlines Group Inc. plan to
have the MAX back in service in April.
United's move raises the prospect that carriers could face a
second summer travel season without their newest and most
fuel-efficient aircraft. The MAX has been grounded since March
after two of the jets crashed within five months, killing 346
people.
Boeing this week said it would pause production of the jet after
regulators told the aerospace giant that it had been setting
unrealistic expectations for the timing of the plane's return.
Airline, government and other industry officials don't expect that
approval to come until February at the earliest.
Boeing's original production plan envisioned more than 1,000 MAX
jets would be operating by June, leaving a big gap in the global
fleet of around 20,000 large commercial aircraft.
The grounding has stretched on longer than most carriers
anticipated, forcing airlines to remake schedules month after month
and cancel thousands of flights. The carrier said it would have to
cancel some 11,520 flights due to the MAX's absence next year,
including the latest delay. United had 14 MAX jets in its fleet at
the time of the grounding. The Chicago-based carrier expected to
have 30 by the end of this year and to receive another 28 in
2020.
Airlines have said that after the MAX is cleared to fly, it will
take as long as two months to train pilots and get their aircraft
ready to fly again. United has said it is considering whether to
require pilots to undergo training in simulators before resuming
flights even if the FAA doesn't mandate it. The FAA hasn't
determined whether to mandate simulator training.
Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 20, 2019 12:16 ET (17:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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