Boeing 737 Max: American Airlines extends flight cancellations on 737 Max flights after grounding worldwide

American Airlines announced Sunday the extension of cancellations of the Boeing 737 Max from its flight schedule until November 2, much longer than expected. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March.

The Boeing 737 was grounded around the world after the fatal accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 in October and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March. Boeing said the aircraft is currently undergoing an update of the flight control software, which has not yet approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The announcement made Sunday marked the fifth time that American Airlines was postponing the scheduled time of resumption of Max's flight. On March 24, American Airlines announced an extension of its cancellations until April 24.

The airline has announced that about 115 flights a day would be canceled until November 2nd. American Airlines has 24,737 Max 8 jets.

A photo of the Boeing 737 Max 8 in the air.

Eric Greer / Boeing

In a statement published on its website Sunday, American Airline said: "American Airlines remains convinced that the imminent software updates of the Boeing 737 MAX, as well as the new training elements that Boeing is developing in coordination with its union partners, will lead recertification of this year's aircraft.We are in constant contact with … the regulators. "

In a recent interview with Associated Press, Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines, said: "I guess it will take more time than people expect" before the Max is certified to fly again. He said that he could not guess when that could happen.

The FAA indicated that it was following a thorough process but had no timetable for when the recertification would be completed.

The delay in Max's flight return began to affect Boeing's bottom line. According to figures published by Boeing, CBS News announced that orders for all 737 models – including the Max – had dropped by more than half in June. In addition, Boeing lost an important contract for Max Jets when Flyadeal reversed a previous plan to buy 50 Boeing 737 Max worth $ 5.9 billion. The Saudi low-cost airline has instead chosen to buy Airbus jets.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the faulty flight control software repair of the 737 Max and the completion of other steps to start carrying passengers are likely to last until 2020. Unnamed officials the FAA and leaders of the pilots' union reportedly stated that no specific timetable had been established. established, but a scenario predicts that the aircraft could come back into the air in January 2020.