A Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft of United Airlines lands on March 13, 2019 in Burlingame, California, at the San Francisco International Airport.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
United Airlines re-commissioned the Boeing 737 Max on Thursday, the second U.S. airline to bring the plane back after two fatal crashes that caused a worldwide crash in 2019.
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its 20-month plane crash in November after Boeing made software and other safety changes to its top-selling aircraft. The resumption of deliveries last year was a relief for Boeing. The foundations of the aircraft starved for cash, a crisis exacerbated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aircraft demand.
United’s first Max flight since departing from its Denver midfield departs shortly before its scheduled departure time for Houston at 7:50 p.m. United has about 550 flights with the Max this month and about 2,000 for March. The Chicago-based airline said it expects 24 Max aircraft this year and that it had 14 in the fleet at the time of the March 2019 plant.
In December, American Airlines became the first American airline to return the aircraft in commercial service with flights from its Miami center. The Brazilian airline Gol was last year the first airline in the world to resume flights with the Max. Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines plan to resume flying their Max planes next month.