MAX oppdatering - Curt Lewis

U.S. FAA to brief international regulators on status of Boeing 737 MAX FILE PHOTO: Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. July 1, 2019. Picture taken July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson has invited about 50 aviation safety regulators from around the world to an informal briefing in Montreal next week on the status of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX, according to an email seen by Reuters. The FAA has been reviewing proposed software and training changes from Boeing Co (BA.N) for its best-selling plane that has been grounded since March in the aftermath of two fatal crashes in five months. Dickson's email said the FAA is working to provide regulators with "useful information as you make your individual decisions on safely returning your fleets to service." The meeting, to be held on Monday, is taking place in connection with the International Civil Aviation Organization World Aviation Forum. Boeing plans to revise the 737 MAX software to take input from both angle-of-attack sensors in the MCAS anti-stall system linked to the two deadly crashes. It is not clear when Boeing will conduct a key certification test flight, a step needed before the FAA can return the plane to service. Some government officials do not believe Boeing will conduct that flight until October. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said last week it "intends to conduct its own test flights separate from, but in full coordination with, the FAA. The test flights are not scheduled yet, the date will depend on the development schedule of Boeing." Separately, a joint governmental review of the Boeing 737 MAX that includes aviation regulators from around the world is expected to be released in the coming weeks. The review is expected to find places where regulations need to be harmonized internationally and where communications could be improved at the FAA and among international regulators, a person briefed on the matter said Tuesday. Major U.S. airlines have canceled flights into December as a result of the MAX grounding, including American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) and United Airlines (UAL.O), while Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) has canceled flights into early January.

How the Boeing 737 Max grounding hurts its most-loyal customer - Southwest Airlines The fallout from two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes has ensnared the manufacturer's most-loyal customer: Southwest Airlines. The carrier has canceled thousands of flights, and Southwest's CEO has said exploring planes from other manufacturers is worth considering.  Southwest Airlines grew from a small low-cost carrier in Texas in the 1970s to the airline that transports more passengers in the U.S. than any other. The backbone of this expansion: the Boeing 737, the plane the airline has operated almost exclusively since it started flying in 1971. Loyal as it's been to Boeing and the 737, the fallout from two fatal crashes of a new version of the plane has prompted Southwest to mull other options for its future. "It's something that we'll want to explore," CEO Gary Kelly told analysts on an earnings call in July. Adding a new plane supplier would be highly complicated and take years, Kelly said, however. "There is no way to avoid risk with a fleet. Period," he added. Regulators worldwide grounded the Boeing 737 Max, a more fuel-efficient version of the workhorse jet that's been flying since the late 1960s, in mid-March after the second of two crashes that killed 346 people. Southwest had 34 Max planes in its fleet at the time of the grounding and was expected to receive about 40 more this year, making it the largest U.S. Max customer. The grounding has forced Southwest and other airlines that bought the Max to cancel thousands of flights and rein in their growth plans this year. Boeing took a $5.6 billion pretax charge in the second quarter, a sum that in part will compensate its Max customers for the grounding, which is now in its seventh month. Boeing declined to comment on negotiations with airlines but Kelly told Southwest employees last week that negotiations are ongoing with Boeing "to reach a business settlement related to the damages that our airline has suffered as a result of the Max grounding." Kelly said that the airline is considering sharing "proceeds as appropriate" with employees. Boeing expects the planes to fly early in the fourth quarter, but regulators have repeatedly said they have no firm date for a resumption of flights. Southwest has removed them from its schedules until January, later than any other U.S. 737 Max customer.