Boeing’s 737 Max returns to US skies with American Air after 21 months

Boeing Co.’s 737 Max has returned to commercial service in the US, with the first flight since two deadly crashes prompted the longest aircraft grounding in the nation’s history.

An American Airlines Group Inc. 737 Max 8 departed Miami at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday on the first leg of a round trip journey to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. American’s president, Robert Isom, is planning to be on both flights. US regulators lifted the flying ban last month after ordering extensive revisions to the plane’s flight-control computer and other changes.

For Boeing, the Max’s return is the keystone of the company’s efforts to restore a balance sheet battered by the grounding and the coronavirus pandemic. The Max accounts for about 80% of Boeing’s backlog of aircraft orders and represents the company’s only offering in the crucial single-aisle market, in which the US planemaker trails Airbus SE.