by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:19 AM ET, Wed October 9, 2019
Officials from American Airlines announced Wednesday they are extending the cancellation of Boeing 737 MAX flights through at least January 15.
According to Reuters.com, American revealed it believes software updates to the 737 MAX fleet will soon be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will lead to the "recertification of the aircraft later this year and resumption of commercial service in January 2020."
The airline already boasts 24 MAX planes as part of its fleet and has dozens more on order. American officials are working under the assumption the carrier will gradually resume MAX flights starting January 16.
The plan is for American to resume about 20 MAX flights a day starting in mid-January until all of the planes are flying once again in February. The airline previously announced it would cancel about 140 flights a day through December 3.
The FAA responded Wednesday by saying the agency is "following a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the Boeing 737 Max to passenger service. The FAA will lift the aircraft's prohibition order when it is deemed safe to do so."
Earlier this month, American Airlines' pilots asked for compensation from lost pay caused by the 737 MAX grounding.
Southwest Airlines previously announced it had canceled MAX flights through January 5 and United Airlines revealed cancellations through December 19. In addition, Southwest pilots have filed a lawsuit against Boeing accusing the company of misleading the airline.
The Boeing 737 MAX has been grounded since mid-March following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.
American Airlines released a statement about what customers need to know:
-Customers booked on a MAX through January 6: All customers who were booked previously on a MAX will be automatically accommodated on the same flights operated by a 737-800 with the same seat configuration. No additional rebooking will be required.
-Customers booked on a MAX from January 7 through January 15: The majority of these customers will be accommodated on the same flight operated by a different aircraft type, which may include a 737-800 or an Airbus aircraft. Beginning October 13, American's Reservations and Sales team will contact affected customers who are impacted by any potential flight cancellations. Customers who booked through a travel agent will be contacted by their agency directly.
-Beginning January 16: American expects to slowly phase in the MAX for commercial service and will increase flying on the aircraft throughout the month and into February.
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