by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:50 PM ET, Thu April 25, 2019
While it remains unclear exactly when Boeing's 737 MAX will return to service, at least one airline industry executive is stressing the importance of not bringing the plane back in a haphazard manner.
During a discussion with Bloomberg, United CEO Oscar Munoz said the plane should not be returned to service until all airlines using it are able to fly it "safely and uniformly.'
"It can't be just one or two" carriers that return the plane to commercial service Munoz told Bloomberg. Given public concerns about the aircraft, which was grounded March 13, "We have to be in lockstep to get this back up," he said.
The airline's CEO said he has yet to be given a time frame for regulators to clear the MAX to resume flights.
"I know what you know," he told Bloomberg.
United has 14 of the 737 Max jets in its fleet. Southwest Airlines meanwhile has 34 and American Airlines Group has 24.
Boeing is currently working to implement software upgrades for the 737 MAX, which was involved in two fatal crashes-Indonesia's Lion Air crash on October 29 and the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10. A total of 346 people were killed in the two crashes.
Earlier this week, Boeing announced that it would take early losses of at least $1 billion due to the two crashes and subsequent grounding of the 737 MAX by the Federal Aviation Administration.
President Donald Trump has suggested that when the planes return to service they should be rebranded.
Trump offered the unsolicited input on social media saying Boeing needs to fix all of the issues regarding the 737 MAX and then add additional features to entice travelers and airlines to continue utilizing the aircraft. He said once the planes are fixed and overhauled, Boeing should rebrand the fleet to avoid the stigma associated with the crashes.
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