American Airlines has once again delayed its planned
reintroduction of the Boeing 737 Max. The carrier is now scheduled to bring the
aircraft back into service on Jan. 16.
American had previously targeted Dec. 3 for its 737 Max
relaunch.
"American Airlines anticipates that the impending
software updates to the Boeing 737 Max will lead to recertification of the
aircraft later this year and resumption of commercial service in January 2020,"
the carrier said Wednesday. "We are in continuous contact with the Federal
Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation."
In a regulatory filing Wednesday, American said the
grounding cost it approximately $140 million in revenue in the third quarter
and forced it to remove 9,475 flights from its schedule.
American had 24 Max planes in its fleet when the aircraft
type was grounded last March. American also has 76 Max planes on order.
Southwest has removed the Max from its schedule until Jan.
5. United has the aircraft on its schedule beginning Dec. 19.