Boeing's 737 Max flies again: but orders are needed to get it off the ground

Few corporate disasters are so big that they can be seen from space. Boeing’s 737 Max made that cut, with satellite images showing row upon row of undelivered planes, grounded after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Now the recovery will start in earnest, with regulatory approval and the restart of commercial flights imminent. The US FAA last month approved the 737 Max for flight once more, and the EASA, the second key global regulator, has set Tuesday as the final deadline for problems or objections to be raised before it too gives a green light. The reintroduction of the 737 Max is a key moment for Boeing in a crisis that has cost it well over $20b, and a CE. At a time when the pandemic has caused the biggest slump in commercial air travel ever seen, Boeing cannot afford any further problems with its bestselling plane. The twin crises have forced Boeing to make swingeing job cuts, with 30,000 out of 160,000 workers expected to be made redundant by the end of next year, but it is spending millions to try to avoid further mishaps. It plans to hire 160 well-remunerated instructors to help pilots with the new systems, and to bring in 24/7 live monitoring of flights. The first paying passengers on the recertified 737 Max in the US (Brazilian airline Gol operated the first commercial flight on 9 December) will take off on 29 December from Miami airport to New York’s LaGuardia. American Airlines will run one return flight a day on that route up to 4 January, before gradually bringing back more. Story has more.<br/>