TUI has begun to make plans for their Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The plans show the aircraft will be flying from London Gatwick from April 2020. The airline's MAX aircraft are currently grounded, in accordance with a worldwide ban.

The Boeing 737 MAX has now been grounded for over three months. Indeed, TUI is the only airline to have the MAX on the Civil Aviation Authority's registry. The airline currently has six of the aircraft, which were parked in Manchester as of late May. This accounts for around 1.6% of the world's grounded 737 MAX fleet.

London Gatwick plans

While other airlines are busy scheduling flights for the Boeing 737 MAX from September, TUI has announced new Boeing 737 MAX schedules for April onwards. These services are planned for across Europe and more originating from London's Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Boeing 737 MAX TUI London Gatwick
The new routes planned by TUI. Image: GCMaps

According to Routes Online, each service will operate once a week starting from the 1st of April 2020. Flights will operate to:

  • Rhodes - 1st April to 29th April;
  • Malta - 2nd April to 30th April;
  • Tenerife South - 3rd April to 24th April;
  • Chambery - 4th April to 18th April;
  • Faro - 5th April to 26th April;
  • Heraklion - 5th April to 26th April;
  • Dalaman - 6th April to 27th April;
  • Marrakech - 7th April to 28th April.

What does this tell us?

The fact that TUI is scheduling flights for April 2020 shows that they are hopeful that the aircraft will be back in the skies by this date. However, it goes much further than this. It shows that at the present moment in time, TUI is confident that the Boeing 737 MAX will be a safe aircraft when it re-enters the skies.

Other airlines have been cancelling 737 MAX orders. However, TUI would not be scheduling flights with the MAX if they were planning not to use it, or did not trust it. By scheduling the flights for April, they are also showing that they believe the aircraft will be back in the skies by then. What would be the point of scheduling the aircraft if you didn't think you'd have it?

Boeing 737 MAX TUI London Gatwick
TUI had 15 MAXs in its fleet at the time of its grounding. Photo: Boeing

Will TUI passengers fly the MAX?

It will be interesting to see how airlines handle the MAX's return to service. While some people say that there is zero need to worry about flying on the Boeing 737 MAX, others disagree. I'm not going to go into who is correct, as everybody is entitled to their own opinion on the matter.

However, it will be interesting to see how TUI plans to handle things if people do not wish to fly on the MAX. President Donald Trump previously suggested renaming the aircraft. Indeed, when mentioning their Boeing 737 MAX letter of intent, IAG refused to use the name MAX, referring to the aircraft as "Boeing 737-8 and 737-10".

Would you fly on the TUI Boeing 737 MAX? Let us know in the comments!