When Will Boeing 737 Max Fly Again and More Questions

Two crashes within five months -- Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 off the coast of Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March outside Addis Ababa -- killed 346 people and led to a global grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jets, the fourth generation of a venerable brand first flown in 1967. Uncertainty over when it will fly again is rippling through the airline industry and Boeing’s finances. The U.S. manufacturer’s bill is $9.2 billion and rising, as it faces questions about the plane’s development and its own transparency. Personnel shakeups have reached all the way to the top.

Unclear. Boeing had hoped the single-aisle plane would be back in service by the end of 2019, but that clearly didn’t happen. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration must first certify redesigned flight-control software that’s supposed to address the cause of the two crashes. Regulators also must sign off on updated training material for pilots. In a stunning reversal after less-than-stellar test results, Boeing is now recommending airlines put pilots through simulator training before they fly the 737 Max. It also will take time for airlines to ready stored jets for service and work them back into flight schedules.