It seems like the Boeing MAX 737 MAX’s never-ending grounding saga is slowly coming to the end. American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) plans to return the 737 MAX to the skies straight after the aircraft is recertified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) (AA) expects to return the jets to service for passenger flights by the end of 2020.
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) has already scheduled regular flights from Miami and New York between December 29, 2020, and January 4, 2021. Flights would be operated by the 737 MAX if Boeing gets all needed federal approvals. The airline announced that the flights would be available for booking from October 24, 2020.
„We remain in contact with the FAA and Boeing on the certification process and we’ll continue to update our plans based on when the aircraft is certified“, American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) announced in a press release on October 18, 2020.
Earlier in October 2020, American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) confirmed it started scheduling training for Boeing 737 MAX pilots from November 2020, when the FAA would issue the new finalized pilot training procedures.
On October 7, 2020, the FAA released a draft report on revised training procedures for Boeing 737 MAX pilots, with an aim to move the grounded jet a step further in the recertification process. The draft training report includes protocols that should help the MAX pilots to properly respond to inputs from the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The protocols outline that pilots must undergo a new flight simulator training during which they must experience the conditions of MCAS failure and activation.
According to protocols of proposed training procedures, pilots must be trained to act under the condition when horizontal stabilizer moves without a pilot command as well as familiarize the procedures of using electric and manual stabilizer trim during abnormal conditions. The protocols also include pilot training of erroneous high angle-of-attack (AOA) malfunctions.
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) has a total of 24 of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft grounded. The FAA, as well as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, expects to lift the Boeing 737 MAX’s flight ban in November 2020 .