Chinese airlines are progressively reintroducing the MAX into service.
Since the Boeing 737 MAX returned to Chinese skies early this year, over a dozen Chinese airlines have resumed operations. Boeing estimates that about half of China’s MAX fleet is already operational.
MAX makes a comeback in China
According to Reuters, Boeing said on Tuesday that 11 Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Fuzhou Airlines, and Lucky Air, have commenced MAX operations as of April 10th. 43 of the jets are already back in service, representing for roughly 45% of the country’s total MAX fleet, which is currently just shy of 100.
On March 22nd, Boeing CFO Brian West announced that 28 MAXs were back in operation, indicating that more than a dozen had returned to the skies in the previous three weeks. This total stood at just eight MAXs in late February, and Boeing has since been actively supporting Chinese airlines in getting their surviving jets back into service following the long layoff.
While the MAX was theoretically re-certified in China in December 2021, regulators will not allow airlines to use the type due to continued trade tensions between the US and China. While international airlines have been flying the MAX into China since October, China Southern was the first Chinese carrier to start flights with the MAX in early January, nearly four years after the MAX was grounded.
Boeing’s strategy has shifted.
The lengthy absence of Chinese MAX operations pushed Boeing to reassess its China strategy. In September, the company hinted that it might remarket MAX aircraft slated for Chinese airlines, implying that it had given up hope of a recovery, though it has since backtracked as Chinese operators revived the jet.
While China’s aviation market swiftly recovers following the release of COVID-related restrictions earlier this year, it appears that Chinese carriers just cannot function without their grounded narrowbodies. Boeing has over 130 MAXs in its inventory allocated for Chinese carriers, but some have cancelled their orders in the aftermath of the March 2019 suspension.
Improvements to flight training
The planemaker also stated that it has placed a 737 MAX Flight Training Device at its training facility at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to improve pilot training in the country. Following the grounding of the MAX in March 2019, the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) sought additional pilot training as one of the requirements for the type’s return. Sherry Carbary, president of Boeing China, stated,
“The move underscores our commitment to our civil aircraft clients in China. The equipment upgrade enables us to provide even better assistance to Chinese 737 MAX clients as they expand the aircraft’s operations in and around China.”
There has been no word on when delivery of the MAX will restart. China Southern Airlines was the most recent Chinese airline to get a Boeing 737 MAX in October 2018.
