• 

  Air China

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  CA/CCA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Beijing Capital Airport, Beijing Daxing Airport, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

  Year Founded:

  1988

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Cai Jianjiang

  Country:

  China

  Airline Group:

  Air China Group

  Region:

  Asia

On July 7th, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 under the care of Air China, took off from Beijing Capital International Airport for a 48-minute test flight. Various sources suspect that the test flight could be a sign that the type is one small step closer to recertification in the country, having undergone modifications required by regulators.

Test flight and aircraft details

The Air China aircraft, registered B-1396 with MSN 60953 and Line Number 6508, conducted a test flight on July 7th as flight CA80. The aircraft took off from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) at 07:16 local time and appeared to fly over the mountainous terrain north of the Chinese capital. The 48-minute test flight concluded with a safe landing at 08:03 local time.

This particular aircraft actually had its first flight in mid-October 2017 and was technically delivered to Air China in late November of the same year. According to BOE Family Flights, the jet was delivered from Boeing Field (BFI) to China via Honolulu.

Data from ch-aviation indicates that Air China has 16 737 MAX 8s in its fleet, with another 18 yet to be delivered.

Required modification completed?

According to Aviation Week, the test flight of this 737 MAX is an indication that the aircraft has undergone certain modifications required by local regulators.

While most other jurisdictions around the world have cleared the 737 MAX as fit to fly, China has not shown the same level of confidence. Indeed, regulators in China had been taking their time with recertifying the type despite MAX aircraft safely flying hundreds of hours per day in other countries for well over a year now.

In December 2021, the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) issued an airworthiness directive that cleared the way for the narrowbodies to return to service. The CAAC mandated that a return to service required aircraft to complete any modification, pilot training, and other work before conducting passenger operations.

Still, the fact that there is some activity taking place provides us with some hope that progress is being made, albeit rather slowly. The impact of COVID-19 in China was one reason cited for the slow progress of MAX recertification.

Discover more aviation news.

China Southern test flights took place in June

As we reported in late June, China Southern Airlines conducted a series of 737 MAX test flights. Indeed, a China Southern 737 MAX 8, registered B-1127, took off from Guangzhou on June 11th and performed several more flights in the following days.

China Southern is heavily invested in the type and currently has 24 MAX 8s with another 43 yet to be delivered.

While these test flights offer some hope that Chinese-operated 737 MAX jets will enter service in the near future and carry passengers, the country's zero-COVID policy offers an ongoing risk to the recovery of China's travel market.

What do you think of the most recent Air China test flight? Should we be expecting a return to service soon? Or is it better not to get our hopes up? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

Sources: Aviation Week, FlightRadar24.com, BOE Family Flights