Boeing's Fixes to 737 MAX Not Likely to Get FAA Approval Until February--Update

By Andrew Tangel and Andy Pasztor 

The global grounding of Boeing Co.'s 737 MAX is set to stretch to nearly a year as regulators expressed concern that the U.S. plane maker set unrealistic expectations for the jetliner's return to passenger service.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to approve fixes to a MAX flight-control system and related pilot training in February, about two months beyond what Boeing recently envisioned, according to people familiar with the matter. That means the troubled airliner might not carry passengers in the U.S. until much later in the spring.

The protracted grounding of the MAX following a second crash of the plane in Ethiopia last March is costing Boeing and its airline customers billions of dollars and disrupting airline passengers' travel plans. The latest delay is likely to ratchet up pressure on Boeing executives as they consider whether to further cut or even halt MAX production at the company's 737 factory in Renton, Wash.

The latest delay arises as FAA Administrator Steve Dickson pushed back against what the agency described as Boeing's overly optimistic projections for when the MAX would win approval to re-enter passenger service, according to an email sent to lawmakers by the FAA's legislative office and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

"The administrator is concerned that Boeing continues to pursue a return-to-service schedule that is not realistic due to delays that have accumulated for a variety of reasons," the email said. "More concerning, the administrator wants to directly address the perception that some of Boeing's public statements have been designed to force FAA into taking quicker action."

Mr. Dickson met with Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The administrator's message, according to the email, was to convey that the agency and manufacturer "must take the time to get this process right."

One of the people familiar with the FAA's plans said the approval could slip into March, in part because of the regulator's aim to brief their international counterparts before ungrounding the U.S. MAX fleet.

"We will work with the FAA to support their requirements and their timeline as we work to safely return the Max to service in 2020," Boeing said Thursday.

In early November, Boeing said it expected the FAA to lift its flight ban in mid-December and approve related pilot training in January, leading U.S. airlines to plan on resuming flights on the MAX in March. Southwest Airlines Co. is likely to remove the MAX from passenger schedules through at least early April, a spokeswoman for the Dallas carrier's pilot union said. American Airlines Group Inc. said it will omit the aircraft from its schedules through April 6.

Southwest and Boeing said Thursday that they have reached an agreement to compensate the airline for some of the damage from the grounding. American and United Airlines Holdings Inc. have said they want to wait until the MAX is back in service to conclude negotiations with Boeing.

Earlier on Thursday, China's aviation regulator, the first to ground the MAX after the crash in Ethiopia, said it has concerns about the reliability and security of Boeing's proposed changes to the aircraft. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has set its own requirements for the aircraft to be recertified for flight in the country, including a training program for pilots and a clear plan to avoid future incidents on the MAX.

--Alison Sider contributed to this article.

Write to Andrew Tangel at [e-mail] and Andy Pasztor at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2019 16:32 ET (21:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.