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American Airlines cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, blaming an estimated $350m hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes during its busiest travel season, but said it was confident the aircraft would start flying by mid-August. American said earlier in April that it was extending the grounding of its twenty-four 737 MAX jetliners until Aug. 19, leading to about 115 daily cancellations during the peak summer travel season. While the cancellations only represent about 2% of American’s daily summer flight capacity, the financial impact is disproportionate as revenue during lost while the vast majority of costs remain in place. The airline said its employees were working overtime to accommodate some 700,000 summer travelers and thousands of crew affected by 15,000 MAX cancellations through Aug. 19.<br/>

American Airlines Group executives said Friday that they are "confident" that Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft will be ungrounded by Aug. 19. American decided earlier this month to remove its 24 MAX jets, which were grounded worldwide in March following two fatal crashes on other airlines, from its flying schedule through Aug. 19. Before making that decision, CE Doug Parker said he told regulators that he needed 95% certainty that passengers could actually fly on MAX tickets that the airline sells past that date.<br/>

American Airlines pilots have warned that Boeing’s draft training proposals for the troubled 737 MAX do not go far enough to address their concerns, according to written comments submitted to the US FAA and seen by Reuters. The comments were made by the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents pilots at American Airlines Group Inc, the world’s largest airline and one of the biggest 737 MAX operators in the United States. Their support is important because Boeing has said pilots’ confidence in the 737 MAX will play a critical role in convincing the public that the aircraft is safe to fly again. Boeing’s fast-selling 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 on board just five months after a similar crash on a Lion Air flight that killed all 189 passengers and crew. Now it is readying for regulatory approval a final software update and training package to address an anti-stall system known as MCAS that played a role in both nose-down crashes. A draft report by an FAA-appointed board of pilots, engineers and other experts concluded that pilots only need additional computer-based training to understand MCAS, rather than simulator time. The public has until April 30 to make comments. APA is arguing that mere computer explanation “will not provide a level of confidence for pilots to feel not only comfortable flying the aircraft but also relaying that confidence to the traveling public.” It said the MAX computer training, which originally involved a one-hour iPad course, should include videos of simulator sessions showing how MCAS works along with demonstrations of other cockpit emergencies such as runaway stabilizer, a loss of control that occurred on both doomed flights.<br/>