United Receives FAA Approval to Return Boeing 737-9 Fleet to Service

DALLAS — United Airlines (UA) has announced that it has received final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume operations of its fleet of 79 Boeing 737-9 aircraft.

According to a company memo from United's Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Toby Enqvist, the carrier is preparing to return the Boeing 737 MAX variant to scheduled service starting on Sunday.

On its part, Alaska Airlines (AS) has confirmed that it has received the FAA inspection protocol and that it expects to bring its first few inspected planes "back into scheduled commercial service on Friday, Jan. 26."

Alaska further stated that more planes would return to service daily as inspections were completed and each aircraft was deemed airworthy. "We expect inspections on all our 737-9 MAX to be completed over the next week," said the Seattle-based carrier.

FAA Inspection Procedures

On Wednesday, the FAA unveiled a comprehensive inspection and maintenance procedure for the grounded Boeing 737-9 fleets, allowing them to resume service once completed. As reported by Reuters, acting FAA Administrator Whitaker expressed confidence in the thorough and enhanced review the FAA team conducted. The review included several weeks of data collection leading up to the inspection and maintenance phases.

According to Enqvist, UA initiated the process of inspecting and preparing the aircraft for service on January 13, under the supervision of the FAA. The findings from the inspections conducted on the first 26 aircraft were shared with Boeing and the FAA. The airline's Tech Ops teams are now finishing up comprehensive inspections on the remaining Boeing 7737-9 aircraft.

On their part, AS technicians completed preliminary inspections on 20 of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft two weeks ago. The data they collected was sent to the FAA for further analysis. "Those findings," AS said, "informed the FAA’s final orders for thorough inspections of the door plug on each of our 737-9 MAX aircraft. We are now ready to implement those final orders."

United's Inspection Process

The UA inspections involve the removal of the inner panel, two rows of seats, and the sidewall liner to access each door plug. The teams then inspect and verify the proper installation of the door and frame hardware, as well as the area around the door and seal.

Any necessary repairs or fixes are being carried out, Enqvist assured his team. Once the inspections are complete, the doors will be resecured and their proper fit ensured. As the process continues, the airline will ensure that each aircraft meets the necessary inspection requirements before resuming operations.

The UA COO ended the memo by expressing his gratitude to UA's Tech Ops team for their dedication and hard work in preparing the aircraft for service. The AS ended its update by expressing its appreciation of "the FAA’s diligence and commitment to safety to get the 737-9 MAX safely back in the air."

Featured image: N37536 United Airlines Boeing 737-9 KBOS/BOS. Photo: Marty Basaria/Airways