American Airlines has announced it will cancel 115 flights a day until mid-August due to ongoing problems with the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, as US President Donald Trump urged Boeing to fix and “rebrand” its troubled jetliner
The announcement made American the second major carrier to cancel flights using the plane through the busy summer season in the northern hemisphere.
Southwest Airlines, the largest operator of Boeing jets, announced last week that it would be cancelling its MAX flights until August 5.
American’s cancellations will last until August 19.
The developments come on the heels of two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, even as US regulators continued to work with the manufacturer.
Mr Trump, who owned the Trump Shuttle airline from 1989 to 1992 and is an aviation enthusiast, weighed in with his own advice on Twitter.
“What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name,” he wrote.
Boeing has said it aims to finish fixing the planes in late April, and any changes would have to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US and foreign regulators for approval.
American previously planned to cancel MAX flights through early June.
But by extending cancellations through the summer, the airline can plan more reliably for the peak travel season, said Doug Parker, American’s chairman and CEO, and Robert Isom, its president, in a letter to employees on Sunday (local time).
“Based upon our ongoing work with the FAA and Boeing, we are highly confident that the MAX will be re-certified prior to this time,” they said in a statement posted on the company’s website.
“But by extending our cancellations through the summer, we can … provide confidence to our customers and team members when it comes to their travel plans.
“Once the MAX is re-certified, we anticipate bringing our MAX aircraft back on line as spares to supplement our operation as needed during the summer.
“We remain confident that the impending software updates, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing for the MAX, will lead to recertification of the aircraft soon.”
American Airlines passengers post complaints on Twitter
Airlines are being forced to ground their planes longer than expected after Boeing and the FAA said the company needed more time to complete changes to a flight-control system suspected of playing a role in the recent crashes.
American’s cancellations represent 1.5 per cent of its total flights each day of the summer.
The airline, which has 24 MAX jets, said its reservations and sales teams would work with customers to manage their travel plans.
American explained on its website that not all flights previously scheduled on a MAX would be cancelled, because the airline planned to use other aircraft for some flights.
That also meant some flights that were not scheduled to take place on a MAX plane might be cancelled because the airline aimed to affect the smallest number of customers.
American also said on its website that customers could request a full refund if they chose not to be rebooked.
American Airlines passengers on Sunday took to Twitter to post complaints about cancelled flights impacting on their holidays, speaking engagements and travel to funerals, and noted problems re-booking flights.
American cancelled 350 flights out of Dallas-Fort Worth on Saturday, but that had nothing to do with the MAX, said spokesman Ross Feinsten.
The cancellations were caused by hail, thunderstorms and high winds in Dallas followed by snow in Chicago, he said.
“We’re working as hard as possible to rebook customers,” he added.