American Airlines is Planning to Give Customer Tours of the Boeing 737 Max

In an effort to build confidence again in the Boeing 737 Max plane, American Airlines is planning to offer customer tours of it.

The airline is expecting to fly the 737 Max as early as December. They have been grounded for the past 18 months following two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 had killed all 346 people on board the flights.

While the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t officially cleared the plane to fly, the agency is reaching the tail-end of its process.

“The FAA continues to follow a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the aircraft to service,” it said in a statement.

Boeing has made several changes to the planes’ software. This includes making a flight-control system that pilots struggled against in both crashes less aggressive.

“We are seeing that finish line approach us and I think it’s a real finish line,” David Seymour, American Airlines’ chief operating officer said to employees in a town hall meeting recently which was reviewed by CNBC.

The airline operator is planning to start 737 Max flights with employees after Thanksgiving, estimating the FAA will lift the flight ban in mid-November, Seymour said. According to an American Airlines spokesman, the company’s plans are tentative, based on the FAA’s decision.

American said earlier this month that it had scheduled what it expects will be the first 737 Max flights since the jet’s grounding between New York’s LaGuardia Airport and the carrier’s Miami hub starting Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.

Customers will have an opportunity after Thanksgiving to see the aircraft in person at airports,
including Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, LaGuardia and Miami, with the participation of pilots and mechanics. Pilots can also answer customer questions through calls and video messages, said the company.

“They’re the ones that … really have the credibility to explain the Max,” said Alison Taylor, American’s chief customer officer.

Customers booked on the 737 Max will receive notifications and be able to switch to another flight if they don’t feel comfortable, Taylor also said.

Not all are happy with the company’s decision. “There are 346 reasons to be respectful and not have a PR campaign,” remarked Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association and a Boeing 737 captain. “When the Max is fixed, fully vetted and we’ve been robustly trained, then it will be time to just go fly the jet.”

The Union told American’s Boeing 737 pilots that they can sign up for December training sessions, which will include a virtual training in a flight simulator.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.