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- Airlines flying with the Boeing 737 Max continued to move the plane during its grounding, frequently making empty flights between bases around the world.
- Airlines are seeking to rationalize their fleets for the return of the aircraft after more than five months of strandings following two fatal accidents.
- However, the Boeing 737 Max airlines remain scattered in airports and countries. Some can not replenish their entire fleet and many planes stay away from home.
- The airlines told Business Insider that the planes are still maintained and moved regularly, so they do not store them for long-term storage and want to use them as quickly as possible, as costs increase.
- The Max was grounded in March after two collisions that killed 346 people.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Airlines flying with the Boeing 737 Max continued to move the plane during its grounding, frequently making empty flights between points around the world, seeking to rationalize their fleets in order to return to service after more than five months of inactivity after two fatal accidents. accidents.
The Max was anchored around the world in March after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max, which killed 157 people. This followed the crash of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia, which had killed 189 people. A total of 346 people were killed in both accidents, which caused a global scandal.
Since the grounding, the airlines have spent a lot of time trying to bring the planes back to their bases.
Many of them have obtained permission from the national transport companies to "transport" the planes – with their crew but without passengers on board – to bring them back to a place where they could be held together while the airline is waiting that the 737 Max be put back into service.
Read more: 400 pilots have joined a growing number of airlines to claim Boeing's reimbursement for its 737 Max Disasters – here is the complete list
Some planes have had problems during this process. In June, a Norwegian Boeing 737 Max was forced to land in France after Germany denied him entry into its airspace.
The plane was trying to return from Spain to the base of the airline located in Sweden. According to a Norwegian spokesperson, Business Insider was an effort to bring all of its aircraft closer together to facilitate aircraft maintenance and upgrades when the Boeing solution was approved. .
The plane was in France for 11 days before being allowed to fly, said a Norwegian spokeswoman at Business Insider.
This transhipment process has left planes scattered around the world, preventing most airlines from maintaining their fleet of 737 Max.
While some Max planes are gathered at the major base airports of the airlines, others have left their planes in several countries where they will be available to fly again when the grounding is finally lifted.
Read more: Here are all the investigations and prosecutions that Boeing and the FAA are facing after the 737 Max accidents, which killed nearly 350 people.
In some cases, airlines keep their Max airplanes in several airports in their home country, some at airports and some at sites they use for storage and maintenance.
Business Insider has contacted more than a dozen airlines with 737 Max aircraft in their fleet to learn about their fate and their movements since the grounding. Here are the eight airlines that provided the answers:
- TUI, a trans-European airline, said that one of his Max planes was in the Canary Islands, off the northwestern coast of Africa, where he will remain until "the grounding be lifted," added a spokesman. Fourteen of his 15 Max aircraft are at their "home base in their respective countries".
- FlyDubai, a low-cost airline based in the UAE, said one of its in-service aircraft was warehoused in a US maintenance facility, where it was when the grounding entered in force. The rest of its 737 Max aircraft are split between two Dubai airports: Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport.
- Norwegian, which owns one of the largest European fleets of 737 Maxes, said its planes were stored in three Scandinavian capitals: Oslo in Norway, Stockholm in Sweden and Helsinki in Finland. The three hubs are those where the 737 Max "aircraft operated mainly before the grounding of the aircraft".
- American Airlines has announced that its 24 Max aircraft are in storage in the United States: 14 at its maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 10 at the company's storage facility in Roswell, New Mexico. . She stated that she "transported aircraft to these places after their grounding".
- Canadian airline WestJet said its 13 Max aircraft were held at Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver airports, three of the company's hubs. The airline stated that under Canadian law, it was able to move planes without anyone on board. He brought three Florida Max planes to Canada after the planes were grounded, a spokeswoman said, and has since transported planes across Canada for maintenance work.
- Aerolineas Argentinas said that its five Max aircraft were withheld in Argentina: two at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires and the other three at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, a national airport. They were already in Argentina when the aircraft were grounded, said a representative.
- Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, has its 34 Max aircraft at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California, after transporting planes to the other side of the US after ordering the aircraft. # 39; grounding.
- One of Southwest's aircraft made an emergency landing in Florida during its March trip, but the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane had not suffered the same malfunction software involved in both fatal accidents, reported the Associated Press.
- United Airlines announced this week that it was carrying its 737 Max fleet to an airport in Phoenix, Arizona. He has 14 planes, which are moved from Los Angeles and Houston. United said the FAA had authorized the flights.
- United attributed the maneuvers to "a number of reasons – including the fact that Arizona has more favorable weather conditions to store aircraft and avoid a potential hurricane threat for aircraft currently in Houston."
Read more: A former Boeing 737 Max engineer said that he was "extremely in a hurry" to keep costs down and minimize new features in order to avoid the FAA's scrutiny.
Airlines keep their planes ready to fly again with little notice
Airlines are largely reluctant to move their aircraft into long-term storage, which may mean draining vital fluids or partially disassembling the aircraft for preservation purposes. Such storage could slow down the process of putting the aircraft back into service after the 737 Max has been shut down.
Instead of placing planes in a long-term storage location, airlines move and maintain them on a regular basis. They are ready to be used as soon as the grounding is lifted, even when the return deadline is pushed back.
Read more: The CEO of one of the world's largest airlines said Boeing needed to join forces as the current 737 Max crisis affected the carrier's profits
The way airlines store their fleet of 737 Max varies considerably.
WestJet said that its Max "planes continue to undergo regular maintenance checks, the engines of each aircraft are running every seven days and we ride them on aprons around our hangars to keep them moving."
"We do not have the intention of storing them," said his spokesman.
Read more: The FAA announced that it would invite Boeing 737 MAX pilots from around the world for its crucial simulator tests
FlyDubai indicated that it was following a maintenance and maintenance plan on its ground aircraft "in accordance with documented standards and procedures set by Boeing" in anticipation of their arrival at the airports.
Southwest said its planes were in "active storage" while they were sitting at the Victorville airport.
TUI stated that its planes were "generally" parked outside the airport but that their storage was "at the discretion of the airport".
Norwegian did not reveal its storage plans but said that its 737 Max planes had been "positioned so that they could be easily reintroduced into the operation once the grounding was lifted".
Most airlines have avoided placing their 737 Max fleets in hangars, which would provide better protection from the elements, but would cost more and could be a long-term storage plan.
Airlines are anxious that planes can return to flight as soon as possible, as they are expensive to store and maintain.
The financial crisis has been aggravated for many airlines, which have been forced to reduce their connections and cancel flights as long as the aircraft remains grounded, as well as to cope with delays in delivery of their new Boeing.
Read more: Photos show how Boeing's 737 Max immobilized aircraft are piling up at the company's Seattle plant
Many airlines, including Ryanair, Korean Air and Air Europa, have not received the Boeing 737 Max that they have ordered.
Airlines are now seeking Boeing compensation for their stolen flights or late delivery, and one Russian airline has even sued Boeing.
Meanwhile, undelivered aircraft accumulated at Boeing's Seattle facilities, even as Boeing slowed production after fatalities. Boeing even began storing planes in the parking lot of its staff while the crisis persists.
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