Pilots Union Opposes Boeing 737 MAX Exemption

The labor group is opposed to efforts to certify the 737 Max 7 and Max 10 without modernized flight crew alerting systems.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, October 06, 2022 at 06:13 PM ET

Verified

Boeing faces a deadline of this December to receive certification of its 737-10, the largest variant of the 737 Max program. [Courtesy: Boeing]

Key Takeaways:

Boeing is seeking a congressional exemption to certify its 737 Max 7 and Max 10 models without modernized flight crew alerting systems, aiming to meet a December FAA certification deadline.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing American Airlines pilots, strongly opposes this exemption, advocating for the installation of modern alerting systems to enhance safety and prevent pilot confusion during malfunctions.
New safety requirements for these systems are mandated by the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, enacted after two fatal 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people.

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The labor union representing American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) pilots is voicing opposition to an effort in Congress to extend an exemption to The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) that would allow the company to certify two Boeing 737 Max models without a modernized flight crew alerting system. Boeing asked for the exemption for both the 737 Max 7 and Max 10 models, saying that without the exemption it cannot meet its December deadline for FAA certification of the aircraft.

According to Reuters, Boeing must achieve regulatory approval for the Max 10 and the slightly smaller variant—the Max 7—no later than December to meet its delivery deadlines.