New York (AFP) – A significant factor in Boeing’s lengthy slump of recent years, the 737 MAX is now at the center of the aviation giant’s comeback. Out of 6,814 unfilled orders for all Boeing aircraft, 4,363 are for the MAX, making it the company’s most ordered model. Below are key dates in the passenger plane’s evolution.
– **2011**
August 30: Boeing presents the 737 MAX, its latest version of the top-selling single-aisle jet.
– **2017**
March 8: US regulators with the Federal Aviation Administration certify the 737 MAX 8, which takes its first commercial flight weeks later.
– **2018**
March 16: The Boeing 737 MAX 7 successfully completes its first voyage from Renton, Washington.
October 29: A 737 MAX 8 operated by Lion Air crashes shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board.
– **2019**
March 10: A 737 MAX 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashes about six minutes after liftoff, killing all 157 people on board.
March 14: Boeing suspends deliveries of the 737 MAX after global aviation regulators ground the jet.
April 4: Boeing acknowledges that flaws with a software program called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) played a role in the crashes.
December 16: Boeing announces the suspension of 737 MAX production beginning in January.
– **2020**
May 27: Boeing resumes production of the 737 MAX at low volumes.
November 18: The FAA clears the 737 MAX to resume service.
– **2021**
January 27: European officials authorize the 737 MAX to resume service. Chinese officials do not clear the jets back into service until January 2023.
June 18: The 737 MAX 10, the biggest model of the jet, conducts its first-ever flight. Boeing has said it expects the MAX 10 to be certified in 2026.
– **2023**
December 22: China accepts its first new Boeing jet since 2019, a 787 Dreamliner. Deliveries of the 737 MAX resume in January.
December 28: Boeing urges airlines to undertake inspections after an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance.
– **2024**
January 5: A 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines makes an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blows out mid-flight, plunging Boeing back into crisis mode.
February 28: An FAA audit gives Boeing 90 days to devise a plan to significantly upgrade its quality control processes.
March 25: Boeing announces that CEO Dave Calhoun will be stepping down in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. The company in July announces the appointment of Kelly Ortberg, who joins as chief executive in August 2024.
– **2025**
October 14: The Airbus A320 dethrones the Boeing 737 as the leader in terms of all-time aircraft deliveries.
– **2026**
July 6: Boeing commences production on the “North Line” in Everett, Washington, part of a strategy to increase output of the 737 MAX.
August 3: The FAA certifies the 737 MAX 7, Boeing’s first new aircraft since the 2018 and 2019 crashes.
© 2024 AFP
