Alaska Airlines has announced the completion of inspections on the initial batch of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, signaling the carrier’s readiness to reintroduce the MAX 9 into service following an in-flight cabin incident earlier this month.
The airline resumed some MAX 9 operations on Friday afternoon, with Flight 1146 departing from Seattle to San Diego.
FAA orders inspection
After the Federal Aviation Administration approved inspection criteria, Alaska Airlines initiated inspections of its initial MAX 9s on Wednesday night.
“We expect inspections on our 737-9 MAX to be completed by the end of next week, allowing us to operate our full flight schedule,” said the airline, adding that inspections take about 12 hours per aircraft.
Improving quality
Following the successful landing of the Alaska Airlines flight, Boeing Commercial Airlines President Stan Deal addressed employees in a letter, acknowledging the diligent efforts in establishing inspection criteria to facilitate the aircraft’s return to service.
Deal mentioned the evaluation of “hundreds” of employee-submitted ideas for quality improvements, emphasising Boeing’s commitment to enhancing quality standards to regain the trust of customers, regulators, and the flying public.
“Our long-term focus is on improving our quality so that we can regain the confidence of our customers, our regulator and the flying public,” he said. “We own these issues and will make them right.”
In a separate development, Copa Airlines saw the return of its MAX 9 to service on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in the gradual reinstatement of MAX operations. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers operating the MAX 9, have faced extensive flight cancellations this month since the grounding of 171 MAX 9s on January 6th.