Boeing shares soar as it forecasts January return for 737 Max
Boeing shares took off this afternoon after the company said it expected US regulators to approve its grounded 737 Max model to return to service in January.
The plane maker, which has been tussling with the global fallout from two deadly crashes of the jet which killed 346 people, said it was possible deliveries to airline customers could restart next month.
Read more: ‘Series of failures’ caused Boeing’s 737 Max Lion Air crash
Shares jumped more than four per cent on the news, as investors welcomed what appears to be the final stage of getting the plane certified to fly again.
Nevertheless, as recently as last week, Boeing said it expected flights could resume by the end of December.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines said Friday they were pushing back resumption of 737 MAX flights until early March.
Major airlines have said they will need at least a month to complete training and install revised software before flights can resume.
“We expect the Max to be certified, airworthiness directive issued, ungrounded in mid-December. We expect pilot training requirements to be approved in January,” said a Boeing spokesman.
Read more: Europe ‘will not accept’ FAA’s safety decision on grounded Boeing 737 Max
US regulator the Federal Aviation Administration reiterated that it has “set no timeframe for when the work will be completed”.
Boeing shares have fallen 18 per cent since March, after the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight became the second in six months involving the 737 Max. A Lion Air flight had previously crashed in October 2018. Both killed all on board.