American pulls 737 Max from schedule through early Dec

Bloomberg

American Airlines Group Inc removed the Boeing Co 737 Max from its schedule for another month, joining carriers cancelling flights until December and beyond as they await US approval to fly the grounded jet.
The extension means the cancellation of 140 daily flights through December 3, American said in a statement.
The airline “remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 Max, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing in coordination with our union partners, will lead to re-certification of the aircraft this year,” it said.
American announced its decision two days after United Airlines Holdings Inc pulled the Max from flight plans until December 19. Southwest Airlines Co, the largest operator of the Max, has taken the aircraft out of its schedule through January 5. Air Canada has pulled the Max until January.
The Max, Boeing’s best-selling jet, has been grounded worldwide since March 13, following two crashes within five months that killed 346 people. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is likely to conduct its certification flight for the Max in October, people briefed on the matter said last month. That would broadly match Boeing’s estimate that the Max will return to service early in the fourth quarter.
According to a Dow Jones report, friction between Boeing and regulators worldwide may keep the Max grounded into the Christmas holiday travel season. Aviation authorities, including those from Europe, Brazil and the US, have complained that Boeing has failed to provide technical details about modifications to the Max’s flight-control computers, Dow Jones said, citing government and pilot union officials.
The complaints stemmed from a Boeing meeting in Seattle which was cut short by regulators, Dow Jones said.
Boeing will have to resubmit documents describing proposed software changes, which must then be vetted by the FAA, the report said. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the meeting to Dow Jones.

Boeing weighs safety panel, reporting changes post crisis
Bloomberg

Boeing Co is weighing changes to its internal reporting structure to better identify aircraft safety concerns following the deadly crashes of its 737 Max.
The manufacturer should rethink reporting lines to ensure that CEO Dennis Muilenburg and other officials are briefed on engineering decisions as well as concerns raised by lower-level workers, according to new recommendations from an internal safety review panel. Boeing is also considering forming a permanent committee to examine the design and development of new planes. The review panel’s recommendations were laid out to Boeing’s board, according to a report by Reuters.
Boeing said it is “grateful for the efforts of the special committee and will make any announcements about its work at the appropriate time.”
The changes would be the first concrete steps taken by Boeing to overhaul its operations as the ailing company grapples with a crisis around its top-selling jetliner. The Max has been grounded worldwide since March after a pair of crashes killed 346 people.
Boeing formed the one-off review panel this year to assess its operations and ensure that future aircraft development avoids the missteps
that compromised safety on the Max.