American Airlines has removed the grounded Boeing 737 Max from its schedule through 6 April, the airline discloses 12 December. In November the Dallas-based airline had canceled Max service through March 4. US Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson said on 11 December that the recertification process would extend into 2020. American states that the 7 April reentry of the Max to its schedule is based on the "latest guidance" from the FAA and the US Department of Transportation. The airline will publish a formal schedule change on 22 December. Assuming the Max is deemed airworthy in early 2020, American will gradually return the aircraft to its schedule throughout April.

Source: FlightGlobal

Ryanair’s aircraft allocation procedures mean passengers will not be told during the booking process whether or not their flights are due to be operated by Boeing 737 Max jets, according to group chief executive Michael O’Leary. He suggests, however, that the Irish carrier’s customers are unlikely to view this as a problem because “confidence in this aircraft will restore very rapidly”. “The reality is [if people want to know whether or not they are due to fly in a Max jet], the answer is that you won’t,” O’Leary told FlightGlobal in Brussels on 10 December. “Because we won’t know. We do our aircraft allocations on a nightly basis. You’re booking your ticket six, eight weeks in advance.” Other Max operators, including Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have indicated that customers will be made aware of which aircraft they are due to fly on in advance of the travel date. But noting that he would place another order for Max jets “tomorrow, if the price was right”, O’Leary cites the example of consumers quickly regaining confidence in the Boeing 787 following the type’s grounding over safety fears in 2013. “I think the best example of [a similar issue with an aircraft] is the 787 – when it had the lithium-ion battery [issue] and was grounded while they replaced the batteries, there was concern about customer sentiment,” he recalls. “Customers got over it about a week after the plane was back flying.” Describing the Max as “a great aircraft”, O’Leary states that “people will love the interiors, they love the seat, wider seat pitch, more leg room, quieter engines”. He also suggests the Max will be “the most audited, the most certified, the most rigorously regulated aircraft delivery into service in history”, which should give passengers confidence in its safety. “On a daily and weekly basis as it racks up thousands of flight hours very quickly, I think confidence will return very quickly,” he adds. O’Leary concedes that “another [safety] event” – which would likely be “human failure” rather than “mechanical” – could “certainly set things back significantly”. He expresses confidence, however, in the work being done by the FAA and EASA towards the aircraft’s return to service, citing a belief that regulators and airlines will complete all required steps “professionally”. “That’s one of the reasons we’re saying to Boeing we’re not taking aircraft in July and August – we’re too busy,” he explains of Ryanair’s Max order backlog. “If you can deliver us planes in May or June we’ll take them. And we want to take the first 5, 10, 15, 20 so that get some experience actually flying the aircraft during the summer peak next year.” O’Leary notes that Ryanair currently expects “10 Max aircraft to be delivered in May and June of next year, with the possibility that might become five, it might become zero”, based on current uncertainty about when the aircraft will return to service. He clarifies that should deliveries not be possible by June, the Irish carrier would delay receipt of its first Max jet until after the July-August peak travel demand period.

Source: FlightGlobal

Air France-KLM Group is ordering another 10 Airbus A350-900s, which will be used to replace the company’s Airbus A380 fleet. The aircraft are set to be operated by Air France, which is phasing out its A380s by the end of 2022. Air France-KLM says the decision is in line with its fleet simplification strategy. Airbus has confirmed the agreement for the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered jets. “Rationalising and modernising the fleet is central to our effort to regain our leading position in Europe,” says Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith. “It will strengthen our performance from both an economic and operational standpoint, and will help us deliver on our ambitious sustainability agenda.” Air France will take its A350 fleet to 38 aircraft as a result of the agreement. Its long-haul fleet, by 2023, will comprise 116 aircraft from four families: the A330, A350, Boeing 787 and 777. The additional A350s will also enable Air France to “accelerate” the withdrawal of its A340s during the first quarter of 2021, the carrier says. Sister operator KLM will have a long-haul fleet comprising 777s and 787s. Air France chief executive Anne Rigail says the initial results of A350 operations at the flag-carrier are “excellent in every way”.

Source: FlightGlobal