Waiting for passengers, American puts Boeing Max in the air

DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is taking its long-grounded Boeing 737 Max jets out of storage, updating key flight-control software, and flying the planes in preparation for the first flights with paying passengers later this month.

The airline invited press reporters and photographers on board one of the planes Wednesday to demonstrate its confidence in the plane's safety.

All Max jets worldwide were grounded in March 2019 after the second of two crashes that together killed 346 people. Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration approved changes — mainly in flight-control software — that will allow airlines to resume flying the plane.

American planned to explain Wednesday the steps it has taken to bring the planes out of storage and make the FAA-required changes.

American is likely to be the first carrier to put passengers on Max jets, beginning Dec. 29 with once-a-day round trips between New York and Miami. In the meantime, the airline has been flying the plane with employees on board and, now, reporters and photographers.

Some relatives of people who died in the crashes — and who still believe the plane is unsafe — expressed outrage at both Boeing and American over what they termed a publicity stunt.

Zipporah Kuria, a British citizen whose father died in the second Max crash, said Boeing and the FAA should instead turn over documents on changes made to fix the plane and how they were tested. The company has withheld the documents, saying they cover trade secrets.

“I feel like Boeing is using the press to leverage public trust instead of actually genuinely earning public trust,” she said. “I'm really disgusted by the whole thing and the fact that American Airlines would pay for that. Their focus is more about the profit and corporate interest...