Recent 737 MAX activities in China Southern’s fleet have once again sparked discussions about whether the airline is close to bringing them back into service. The type hasn’t performed passenger-carrying commercial flights in China since its grounding following the two deadly crashes.

While plans to reintroduce the MAX in China have seen some progress since December last year, things haven’t moved as swiftly as Boeing had hoped. But do the recent test flights indicate that a return to service is likely in the coming days?

Test flights

Last week, China Southern Airlines conducted a bunch of test flights of the Boeing 737 MAX airplane, suggesting that preparations are being made to return the type to service soon. This was the first time since March that China Southern flew a MAX airplane – a gap of three months between flights.

The jet, registered B-1127, took off from the airline’s headquarters city of Guangzhou on June 11th. It performed several other flights in the following days, such as the one on June 14th, which took off from Guangzhou again and landed in Nanyang in central China, Reuters reports citing data from Variflight.

China has a pilot training base in Nanyang, which suggests that the airline is likely training its cockpit crew for the MAX ahead of its reintroduction.

Certification delays

China has not shown the same confidence in the MAX as the rest of the world. In December 2021, the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) issued an airworthiness directive that paved the way for the single-aisle jet to return to the Chinese skies after an almost three-year grounding.

The condition set for the type’s return was that the country’s domestic airlines must complete any aircraft modification, pilot training, and other work before being returned to service. While there have been some test flights since then, things have progressed slower than one would have imagined.

In January, China Southern completed a three-and-a-half-hour test flight with one of its MAX aircraft. Similar flights were conducted in March as well. Boeing, however, continues to produce the 737 MAX aircraft for Chinese carriers even as they await recertification.

Interestingly, China was the first to ground the type following the crash and will be the last to recertify it, whenever that happens.

Demand picking up

China Southern’s MAX test flights also follow an uptick in domestic travel demand following a two-month lockdown of China’s financial hub Shanghai. Reuters cites data from OAG, showing that Chinese airlines raised capacity by 8% last week compared to the week before.

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The country is also set to increase its international air service as part of a larger plan to reinvigorate the economy and support the aviation industry by rolling out an extensive economic stimulus plan. Industry experts have stated that the recovery of aviation in Asia depends significantly on China’s recovery. Hopefully, this is the start of other positive changes to come.

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Source: Reuters