At this point, why does any airline keep announcing any date? They've all had to push them back multiple times, so why not just say it is out of the schedule until further notice?
There shouldn't be anyone that believes April 7 or whatever June date UA is saying.

AA news re: resumption of Boeing 737 MAX, Updated Jan. 14, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. CT.

Based on the latest guidance, American Airlines anticipates that the resumption of scheduled commercial service on American’s fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will occur June 4, 2020.

American Airlines remains in continuous contact with the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation and Boeing. Based on the latest guidance, the airline anticipates that the resumption of scheduled commercial service on American’s fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will occur June 4, 2020. Once the aircraft is certified, American will run flights for American team members and invited guests.

Frequently asked questions

Question: When will American run a schedule change and inform customers who were booked on a MAX from April 7 through June 3?
Answer: American had previously canceled service on the MAX through April 6. On Jan. 19, American will run a formal schedule change, and customers who were previously booked on a MAX through June 3 will see their reservation updated on aa.com. Additional refinements to our schedule through June 3 will also occur in February 2020.

“Based on the latest guidance, the airline anticipates that the resumption of scheduled commercial service on American’s fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will occur Aug. 18, 2020.” — 14 Feb 2020

Well butter my buns and call me a biscuit...

From the AA 737 update page:

"When will American run a schedule change and inform customers who were booked on a MAX from June 4 through Aug. 17?
American had previously canceled service on the MAX through June 3. On Feb. 23, American will run a formal schedule change, and customers who were previously booked on a MAX through Aug. 17 will see their reservation updated on aa.com. Additional refinements to our schedule through Aug. 17 will also occur in March 2020."

At least these changes are being put through early enough for people to adjust.

Use of 737 max for flight
 

On flight from dca-anu via Mia on 02Oct2020, flight from mia-anu is on 737 max, what are chances flight is cancelled or they will just do equipment changes?

Yes, there are lots of flights this fall with the MAX scheduled. If the MAX isn't cleared to fly by then, AA will just do equipment swaps as they've done in the past.

Or, third alternative. The aircraft has been cleared for return to commercial service and it performs the flight.

2 October? I'd take your bet.

I would think it's pretty unlikely given a couple of situations:

1) the aircraft is still grounded and reactivating the fleet of these will take time even once it's ungrounded (and there's nothing to indicate any of that will be happening in two months time)
2) fleets aren't exactly stretched at this point, why would AA bother reactivating another fleet type when it isn't needed at all

I believe even if the aircraft does end up operating your flight AA has stated they would allow changes for passengers who do not want to fly on it.

Three days of certification flights were carried out at the very end of June. That’s a vast amount of data to be sorted, and there are many steps that must be carried out by the national or regional airline regulators everywhere 737 MAXs may fly again - some regulators may be reluctant or doubtful for everything from having issues because of the accidents (Ethiopia and Indonesia in particular), or even political reasons. Once the certification is granted it will be contingent on hard and soft updates encompassing everything from wiring to MCAS. Pilots and mechanics must be trained, the upgrades must be completed and inspected.

October? I’d not take that bet at all. Maybe Thanksgiving, maybe toward the end of the year? Creating with and complying with the AD will be quite an accomplishment. Then, every aircraft must be “de-mothballed”, thoroughly inspected, test flown abd accepted by the airline and its pilots.

Regardless, they will be coming online at some point. And the recertified MAX will be the most scrutinized, vetted, tested aircraft in the USA since Lockheed’s L-188 Electra (which had an unfortunate tendency to shed its wings under certain circumstances). The EIP - Electra Improvement Program - was successful, AA renamed the reworked Electra “Electra II” and flew them suvpccessfully and safely. The Navy’s Electra derivative P-3 Orion patrol aircraft was hugueky string and had a long life.

For those who have strong concerns, I expect AA will allow free changes for those who find themselves scheduled on a MAX. The challenge will be, in this era of fewer flights, to find alternative aircraft and flights that can get you there.

I’ve flown since the 1940s and lived through the aircraft catastrophes of the Comet I, Lockheed Electra, DC-10. I generally avoid newly designed or highly modified aircraft for a while because of that - my first 787 flight was two years ago, and I did fly many safe flights on Comet 4Cs, Lockheed Electra IIs, DC-10 varieties. I will fly on a fully vetted recertified 737 MAX at some point, and given they’ll be the only options on some flights, relatively soon.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...43aa469d3.jpeg

Anyone want to take bets on which major modern aviation embarrassment will happen first? The opening of BER vs the return to service of the 73M?

I'm going with BER, only because they have a published date, though I know better not to trust those one bit, especially for that project :)

FAA plans 45-day public comment period on Boeing’s 737 MAX; ungrounding not likely before mid-October

The Seattle Times, 21 Jul 2020 — link

45 days to receive public comment. Put thinking hat on now...

WSJ reporting that there might not be any passenger flights until 2021..

From (paywall) article https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-737-max-increasingly-unlikely-to-carry-passengers-before-2021-11595372485?mod=hp_lista_pos3

Boeing Co.BA 2.41% ’s 737 MAX isn’t likely to resume widespread passenger flights until early next year—nearly two months beyond previous expectations—due to another regulatory delay, according to U.S. government and industry officials.