WestJet prepares for 737 Max flights pending approval

WestJet will begin non-commercial test flights of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft during the coming weeks with the aim of having the aircraft type ready to resume revenue flights on 21 January pending approval from Transport Canada. The Calgary-based airline would take a phased approach to resume Max flights once Transport Canada allows the Boeing aircraft to re-enter Canadian airspace after it has been grounded for 20 months, WestJet chief executive Ed Sims states. “We will be forthcoming with our guests on where the Max aircraft are flying, and we will be flexible with our change and cancel policy to ensure our guests can make their travel plans confidently,” Sims says. Following regulatory approval, WestJet plans to operate 737 Max aircraft on three round-trip flights each week between Calgary and Toronto, which is one of its busiest routes. The airline would limit its Max rollout to that route for four weeks before deciding how best to resume operation of that aircraft type on other routes. “Regulatory bodies around the world have spent more than a year examining the Max aircraft to provide recommended changes to software, pilot training and maintenance requirements,” Sims says. “We are confident with the changes they have mandated. In particular, the deliberate, detailed and independent scrutiny applied by Transport Canada’s National Aircraft Certification team, which prescribed additional requirements to pilot procedures and training, provides further confidence in the aircraft and its safe return.”<br/>