Boeing set to deliver first 737 Max to China since 2019 grounding

Boeing Co. is poised to deliver a 737 Max aircraft to China for the first time since the best-seller was grounded in early 2019, in a boost to the US planemaker as it works to shore up support for the beleaguered model.

A China Southern Airlines Co. Max jet is scheduled to depart Boeing Field in Seattle Wednesday at about 9:10 a.m. local time for Honolulu, according to FlightRadar24 data. While the timing may still change, a delivery flight would mark a major milestone nearly five years after Beijing banned the aircraft from flying in the wake of fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The breakthrough would hand Boeing some much-needed good news as it struggles to recover from a quality crisis that erupted on Jan. 5, when a fuselage section blew off a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines mid-flight. US regulators have grounded 171 of the variant, and customers from United Airlines Holdings Inc. to Alaska Air Group and Ryanair Holdings Plc have criticized Boeing quality. 

Shares of Boeing advanced to session highs after Bloomberg reported on the delivery flight. The stock was up 0.9% as of 11:41 a.m. in New York, after rising as much as 2.3%.

The model headed for China Southern is a Max 8, by far the top-selling 737 variant. Resuming Max deliveries to China would help Boeing’s cash flows amid potential delays tied to the Max 9 grounding and scrutiny of manufacturing quality.  

Boeing is still working to clear hundreds of already built Max aircraft out of company storage lots that had built up during global grounding five years ago and the Covid-19 pandemic that followed. The planemaker holds around 75 of the workhorse jets earmarked for China, executives have said.

Handovers to China were set to start late last year. However, preparations were put on hold after the planemaker and Federal Aviation Administration instructed Max operators to inspect the aircraft for loose rudder bolts. 

Beijing led the global grounding and banned the Max from flying following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. China signed off on Juenyao Airlines Co.’s newest 787 Dreamliner delivery on Dec. 21, the first passenger jet handed over directly from Boeing to a Chinese carrier since November 2019. That signaled Max deliveries could be next. 

Boeing declined to comment. China Southern didn’t respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.