American Airlines wants to give tours of Boeing 737 Max aircraft at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and other locations before the beleaguered jets return to the skies after more than 18 months of being grounded.
The Fort Worth-based airline, the second-largest U.S. owner of 737 Max jets, told employees at an internal meeting last week that it will host a series of events after the 737 Max is recertified as the carrier eases the plane -- and the minds of customers -- back into service.
"We'll do some static displays of the aircraft here in DFW, Miami, LaGuardia where we'll see some of the flying," American Airlines chief operating officer David Seymour said in the meeting, according to an audio recording shared with The Dallas Morning News. "And then that static display will also be offered up to some of our customers as well so they can go and look at the aircraft."
American Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Jantz confirmed the message to employees, but said it was "at a very high level."
"Our plans are very tentative and timing is fluid," Jantz said in an email. CNBC first reported the 737 Max tours.
Airlines such as American and Dallas-based Southwest are still eagerly awaiting the recertification of the Boeing 737 Max jets after the jets were grounded worldwide in March 2019 following two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Despite the overabundance of planes because of the covid-19 pandemic's impact on flying, airlines want the 737 Max back because it is about 25% more fuel-efficient than the predecessor 737 NG plane.
American has also tentatively scheduled the 737 Max for service between Dec. 29 and Feb. 4, flying round-trip between Miami and LaGuardia Airport in New York.
While the Federal Aviation Administration has been cautious about the recertification process, Administrator Stephen Dickson took a test flight on the plane earlier this month and the agency is approaching several key milestones that could lead to its recertification soon, including fixes to the problematic flight control software that was a factor in the two crashes.
Comments on pilot training for the 737 Max recertification are due on Monday, but Seymour anticipated that the plane could be ungrounded the week before Thanksgiving, he said in the meeting.