Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci stated on Tuesday that he is "not overly worried" about the further delay in the certification of the Boeing 737 Max model due to a new software issue. The certification of this model is already several years behind schedule.
Earlier on Tuesday, Alaska Airlines announced a major cabin renovation plan to add more premium seating across its fleet, including flatbed suites on the Max. The plan is expected to begin operation by the end of 2028. In an interview with CNBC, Minicucci stated that if there are delays of several months with the latest Max, the maiden flight time might be postponed. However, he added that the Seattle-based airline is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing to advance the certification process.
On Monday, Director FAA Bryan Bedford told reporters that regulatory authorities are assessing the software issues with this aircraft, and as a result, the approval of the plane will be delayed, leading to a significant drop in Boeing's stock price.
The 710 is the last model in Boeing's best-selling 737 series jetliner family that is still awaiting federal approval. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines are all customers of this model. Earlier this month, Boeing's CEO stated that he expects the 710 to be approved "soon."
Boeing stated over the weekend that the company has recently informed airlines about this issue. The problem may cause some automatic navigation information to not be transmitted to pilots in the updated software. The issue could arise in the vertical navigation system: this situation may occur when an aircraft misses its approach procedure, needs to go around, and has to realign for landing.
The CEO of Ryanair, a low-cost airline in Europe, Michael O, said to reporters at a conference in Warsaw, Poland earlier on Tuesday, Leary, that as one of the Max top 10 customers, he expects the certification for this aircraft model to be completed "within a few days," rather than "in a few weeks or months." Reuters reported on this.
