American Airlines bosses will fly 737 MAX before it takes passengers
American Airlines will fill its next 737 MAX flight with company managers before it starts carrying paying passengers again.
Executives and other staff members will take to the skies in its first flight once regulators clear the aircraft for travel again.
It hopes to build some confidence in the plane’s safety ahead of commercial service with the general public.
"We’d like to get it flying again so when customers get on it, they realise it’s been flying potentially for weeks," said American spokesman, Ross Feinstein.
American has taken the Boeing 737 MAX out of schedules until September 3 and still believes it will get official clearance by the end of the summer.
"We wouldn’t be selling seats today if we didn’t think it was a highly likely possibility that the aircraft will be flying by September 3," said American CEO Doug Parker.
That looks like an over-optimistic timeline with the FAA still not prepared to give an exact date.
The FAA’s associate administrator for airline safety Ali Bahrami said he expects it to be back in the air by the end of the year.
Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg also hinted at a similar timeline in an interview last week.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive