Boeing sees Biden, Xi meeting as ‘encouraging sign’ to get 737 MAX back in Beijing’s good graces

China has signalled it may be close to recertifying the 737 MAX, nearly a year after the passenger jet was cleared to fly in the United States
China was the first nation to ground the MAX, following crashes in 2018 and 2019, and has not allowed the jet to fly since

Boeing

Bloomberg

Published: 12:48pm, 15 Nov 2021

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Boeing is optimistic that it will soon be logging Chinese orders and deliveries of its 737 MAX after the nation’s regulator signalled it is close to ending a more than 2.5-year grounding of the single-aisle workhorse.

“We’re hopeful,” said Stan Deal, head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, on Sunday. “We’ve seen some orders on freighters that have come through, and we’re just encouraged. We know that President Biden and President Xi are talking next week, so those are all encouraging signs.”

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last week posted a request for comment about the proposed changes and fixes to the jet for it to return – a sign that China might be close to recertifying the 737 MAX nearly a year after the jet was cleared in the United States.

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Boeing teams visited China earlier this year to perform technical test flights and simulator sessions, as well as an evaluation of its revised pilot training curriculum.

“Our job has been to put forth every bit of technical information for their evaluation,” Deal said. “We’re checking the boxes, but it’s up to the CAAC ultimately.”

China was the first nation to ground the MAX, acting within hours of a second fatal crash in Ethiopia in March 2019, and has not allowed the jet to fly since, halting deliveries to Boeing’s largest overseas market.

Diplomatic tensions between the US and China have added to the uncertainty surrounding the return of the plane, a key American export and Boeing’s main source of revenue. But there are signs of a thaw, with presidents Biden and Xi slated to talk for the first time.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that he was optimistic China would recertify the MAX before the end of this year, clearing the way for deliveries to resume in the first quarter of 2022.

That is a critical factor in the planemaker’s plan to ramp up production of the MAX from the current level of 19 jets a month to a 31 a month starting next year.