Boeing’s 737 MAX resumed passenger flights in the US for the first time on Tuesday after a 20-month safety ban was lifted last month.
American Airlines (AA) Flight 718 landed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport at about 1:08pm after departing from Miami about two-and-a-half hours earlier.
A CNBC reporter said that the wife of the flight captain and the first officer’s mother were both onboard the about 1,930km flight.
Photo: Reuters
American Airlines and planemaker Boeing have sought to reassure the public over the plane’s safety after it was cleared by US regulators last month to resume flights.
A Reuters/IPSOS poll showed that more than half of passengers are wary of taking the jet when reminded of two fatal crashes that led to the grounding.
“This aircraft is ready to go,” American Airlines president Robert Isom said at a media briefing in Miami before the flight.
The airline is confident in the safety of the 737 MAX, Isom said.
The 737 MAX was grounded in March last year for 20 months after two fatal crashes in five months killed 346 people.
The grounding was lifted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month after Boeing agreed to software upgrades and new safeguards on a key flight control system linked to both fatal crashes.
American Airline’s first flight between Miami and LaGuardia followed flight control updates, maintenance work, fresh pilot training, and town hall meetings with flight crews to walk them through Boeing’s changes and address concerns.
American Airlines is the third carrier globally to resume flights, following Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes and Grupo Aeromexico earlier this month.
Between those two airlines, the updated 737 MAX has flown about 250 commercial flights, aviation data firm Cirium said.
American Airlines has 31 737 MAX aircraft after taking delivery of seven more jets since the FAA lifted its safety ban, including one on Monday, and plans to gradually reintroduces the plane to its fleet.
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