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E-mail China Daily, January 2, 2024
B737 MAX aircraft seen at Beijing Capital International Airport. [Photo/China Daily]
U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. announced a complete return of its B737 MAX aircraft to commercial services in China, saying the model is operational across multiple regional and international routes, indicating that technical and safety issues of the past have been tackled in China.
"In 2023, the Chinese B737 MAX fleet that consists of nearly 100 aircraft were fully back in service with higher efficiencies," said Liu Qing, president of Boeing China, on the company's official WeChat account in late December.
The development marks a milestone for Boeing's operations in China, as orders and deliveries of Boeing aircraft to Chinese carriers were largely suspended after two fatal crashes of the single-aisle B737 MAX in 2018 and 2019, which led to the grounding of the aircraft model worldwide.
Since late 2020, the model was allowed to resume flights in many parts of the world. In January 2023, China Southern Airlines resumed the operation of B737 MAX for commercial domestic flights, marking the model's return to the skies in China.
"Chinese carriers' full resumption of operations of the B737 MAX shows that technical problems have been dealt with, and corresponding market issues have been tackled. But it doesn't signify that China has completely opened the door to introduce new planes of the model," said Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China.
China is Boeing's second-largest market and the largest for its European rival Airbus in terms of the number of aircraft delivered, according to the two jet makers.
Currently, China's 13 domestic carriers operate 97 B737 MAX planes in their fleet. China Southern, Air China and Hainan Airlines each own 24, 16 and 11 aircraft, respectively. Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Shandong Airlines also own some B737 MAX planes.
China's air travel market has been on a steady track of recovery since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures in late 2022.
The country is expected to handle about 620 million air passenger trips in full year 2023, including international and domestic flights, which are foreseen to rebound to 93.8 percent of the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019, according to a projection by Flight Master, a travel services platform in China.
In December, Boeing delivered a new B787 aircraft to Chinese private carrier Juneyao Airlines, its first widebody aircraft for a Chinese mainland carrier in nearly three years, indicating gradual recovery in China's international air travel market.
In addition, the company said the third-phase expansion project of Tianjin Boeing Composite Material Co. Ltd, a joint venture of Boeing and Aviation Industry Corp of China, was completed in 2023, or the 50th anniversary of Boeing's entry into China. The new factory is expected to be operational soon.
In addition, Boeing's B737 completion and delivery center in Zhoushan, in East China's Zhejiang province, organized competitions of aircraft painting and maintenance skills in 2023, which further enhanced the capabilities of local employees and prepared for future aircraft deliveries, the company said.
The center was put into operation in 2018 and suspended the actual completion and delivery of aircraft after the B737 MAX was grounded.
Meanwhile, Airbus said China is expected to become the largest commercial aircraft services market globally by 2042, exceeding North America and Europe, and it will continue to increase investments in the country.
