Boeing expects to resume delivering 737 Max jets to airlines in December, though before the jet carries passengers again

• Boeing said on Monday that it expects to resume delivering 737 Max jets to airlines in December.
• The deliveries would begin before the plane is fully cleared to fly again, a new Wall Street Journal report says, but after it receives primary certification from the FAA.
• The plane maker said it completed a simulator test of the plane's redesigned software with the FAA, a crucial step toward certification.
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Boeing expects to resume delivering 737 Max jets in December, before the plane is approved to fly passengers again.

Boeing is working to get a fix to the troubled plane certified by the FAA, as well as a pilot training requirement. However, the plane maker is looking to have pilots start delivering new completed jets to airline customers before that training is finalized, and after the plane's main certification is complete, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Boeing has faced increasing pressure as deliveries have halted while production continued. Although the plane maker cut its production rate from 52 planes per month to 42 in April, it has had difficulty finding places to store the completed but undeliverable planes.

It would also help Boeing weather mounting financial pressure. The company has only sold a handful of Max jets since the March, 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and is concerned because of dwindling widebody orders partly caused by the Trump administration's trade war with China.

Although Boeing has maintained since the summer that it would be able to get the Max flying again by the fourth quarter of 2019, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines recently pulled the plane from their schedules until early March.

Despite several recent setbacks, including being required to resubmit documentation outlining changes to the Max's flight computer, Boeing last week cleared a step in the certification process following a series of successful simulator tests with the FAA, according to the Journal.

However, the paper reports, even if the plane is certified by the end of the year, the pilot training isn't expected to be approved until several weeks later, following a public comment period. Until the training is approved and implemented, airlines would not be allowed to use the planes to carry passengers.

Even so, airlines are anxious to resume deliveries. Operators will need to service the stored planes, and inspect jets before returning them to service. By beginning deliveries before the training is approved, Boeing and airlines would have some extra time to get the planes ready.

Boeing has been preparing to aggressively deliver jets, including recruiting recently retired aircraft technicians to help prepare stored planes for delivery flights, an initiative first reported by Business Insider.

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