FAA Lifts 737 Ban, Though Seats Will Likely Still Be Empty

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration rescinded the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jet on Wednesday, though it won’t return to service immediately.

The FAA's order clears the jumbo jet for an eventual return to the skies while specifying design changes and training requirements that must be met before it flies again.

“The FAA must approve 737 MAX pilot training program revisions for each U.S. airline operating the MAX and will retain its authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX aircraft manufactured since the FAA issued the grounding order,” the FAA stated. “Furthermore, airlines that have parked their MAX aircraft must take required maintenance steps to prepare them to fly again.”

The 737 was grounded from global service in March 2019 after two crashes, one in 2018 and another in 2019, left 346 people dead. Last month, Boeing said its 737 had completed some 1,400 test and check flights and clocked more than 3,000 flight hours in preparation for the recertification process.

Commenting on findings in September from a House investigatory panel examining the crashes, Rep. Peter DeFazio, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said the crashes were the result of “corporate greed, willful or negligent blindness to basic precepts of aviation safety, and, perhaps most insidious, regulatory capture on the part of the FAA.”

Word surfaced last week that once the administration lifted the ban, all pilots for the airlines that use the jet would need to complete pilot and software training, which could take about a month.

Earnings for Boeing in the third quarter came in 29% lower than the same period last year. Commenting on the performance, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in October the company was coming to terms with the “new reality” created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With social restrictions in place, airlines are struggling to fill the seats, which could become another problem for the troubled 737 MAX. The U.S. Transportation Administration showed 611,497 people moved through its checkpoints on Tuesday compared to a traveler throughput of over 1.9 million on the same date one year prior.

American Airlines, which counts the MAX 737 in its fleet, in October said it was trying to alleviate would-be customer concerns by giving tours of the jumbo jet.

The MAX 737 boasts a seating capacity of as many as 230 passengers. The Airbus A220, by comparison, can carry up to 160 people.