American Airlines to cancel 90 flights a day due to grounded Boeing 737 Max jets
American Airlines has extended its flight cancellation period to 24 April due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max planes involved in two fatal crashes in recent months.
The US airline said it will cancel roughly 90 flights a day as its 24 Max jets remain grounded, while some flights scheduled for other models may also be cancelled.
Read more: Indonesian airline ditches order for Boeing planes after deadly crash
“By proactively cancelling these flights, we are able to provide better service to our customers with availability and rebooking options,” the company said in a statement.
Earlier this month American Airlines said the troubled Boeing model is used for 85 of its 6,700 total daily departures. It said it is working to re-route aircraft to cover as much of the schedule as possible.
The 737 Max, Boeing’s new flagship plane, has been grounded by aviation authorities across the globe after an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on 10 March, killing 157.
Boeing is expected to unveil plans to upgrade its anti-stall system to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as early as next week.
The company has been working on the upgrade since the model suffered a similar crash in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. Boeing will also reportedly install extra safety alarms in the cockpits of the jets.
But it is not clear if the changes will be enough to satisfy authorities after the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Read more: Boeing 'to fit safety alarms' in cockpits of 737 Max planes
American, Southwest and United Airlines were all meeting with Boeing this weekend to review the software upgrade, Reuters reported.
American said it continues to await information from the FAA and other authorities that would permit the 737 Max model to resume flying.