December 17 - Canada is reportedly edging closer to recertifying the Boeing 737 MAX. The country is expected to approve Boeing’s design changes as soon as today. While not equating to recertification, design changes are a crucial milestone on the road to getting the aircraft flying again.

In late November, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recertified the Boeing 737 MAX. The decision came following 20 months of work by Boeing to rectify the issues that caused two new 737 MAX aircraft to crash on departure in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Following recertification by the FAA, Brazil also recertified the aircraft, with Mexican airlines eyeing service resumptions on Monday.

 

Canada moves closer to recertification

It seems as though Canada is moving closer to recertifying the Boeing 737 MAX in line with its neighbor. According to Reuters, two sources familiar with the process said that Transport Canada is preparing to approve the 737 MAXs design changes as soon as today.

It should be noted that this does not equal recertification but is instead a step on the road to clearing the aircraft to fly. A spokesperson for Transport Canada declined to comment on the report to Reuters. It will surely come as good news to Air Canada and WestJet, who fly the Boeing 737 MAX in the North American country.

 

Boeing hiring 737 MAX pilots

Reuters reported that Boeing is hiring pilots to assist with the 737 MAX’s return to service in a separate article. The pilots would be sent to airlines to act as instructors or cockpit observers for 35 days.

According to the job listing, pilots need to be licensed to fly the Boeing 737, alongside other Boeing aircraft. They will be required to have 2,000 hours on the Boeing aircraft, with 5000 hours of total flying time. They will also need to have over 1,000 hours of experience instructing others. Understandably, this experience must be accompanied by a clean license. The job listing clarifies that these are the minimum requirements, suggesting that more qualified individuals would be preferred.

 

Returning the MAX to service

While airlines such as Southwest don’t seem to be rushing to return the 737 MAX to service, Brazil’s GOL jumped on the opportunity to utilize the more fuel-efficient aircraft, becoming the first carrier to do so.

AeroMexico is expected to resume 737 MAX flights on Monday, followed by American Airlines in just under two weeks. So far, other airlines are yet to put a firm time frame on the aircraft’s return to service. Although both United and Ryanair have indicated that they hope to resume 737 MAX flights in early 2021.

Most airlines are expected to be reasonably flexible when it comes to rebooking MAX passengers. However, earlier this month, Ryanair’s CEO indicated that he didn’t think passengers would have a problem flying on the aircraft, stating that they would instead enjoy flying on the aircraft.

 

 

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