The president of Boeing’s Commercial Airlines, Stan Deal, has outlined the company’s efforts to regain trust after the grounding of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft. In a letter to employees, Deal announced that Alaska Airlines has resumed flights with the 737 MAX 9, which will soon be followed by United Airlines, Aeromexico, and Turkish Airlines. The planes were cleared for flight after the FAA approved Boeing’s detailed inspection and maintenance process for all 171 MAX 9s with plug doors. “Our long-term focus is on improving our quality so that we can regain the confidence of our customers, our regulator and the flying public. Frankly, we have disappointed and let them down,” Deal said. “We are deeply sorry for the significant disruption and frustration of our customers, some of whom have been publicly and unfairly criticized. We have heard from our regulator, which has announced it won’t allow 737 MAX production increases until they are satisfied we have improved our quality control. We own these issues and will make them right.” 
Stan Deal, chief executive officer of commercial airplanes at Boeing Co., during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)Alaska Airlines resumed service of its 737 MAX 9 fleet on Friday with a flight from Seattle to San Diego. Friday’s flight was the first since the FAA grounded all 737 MAX 9 planes with a plug door in response to the high-profile accident earlier this month — when the plug door panel on one of Alaska Airlines’ planes blew off mid-flight in Portland, Oregon.The carrier said it began inspections of its MAX 9 fleet on Wednesday night after the FAA cleared Boeing’s inspection criteria. It expects to complete the inspection of all 65 of its 737 MAX 9 planes by the end of next week, allowing it to operate a full flight schedule. 
Deal told Boeing employees that the company must work to regain consumer trust and confidence after the plug door blew off a 737 MAX 9 plane in mid-flight. (JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)”Each of our 737-9 MAX will return to service only after the rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to FAA requirements,” Alaska said in a statement. “The individual inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours per aircraft.”Deal said Boeing has “worked diligently” to create inspection criteria that would allow aircraft to be put back into service and that the leadership team is in the process of evaluating “hundreds” of ideas submitted by employees for quality improvements. 
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane sits at a gate at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 6, 2024, in Seattle, Washington. Alaska Airlines has resumed service of its 737 MAX 9 planes following inspections after part of a fuselage blew (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images / Getty Images)”Over the last century, the people of Boeing have faced and overcome significant challenges. This is one of those times,” he wrote. “We have to be better. We have to deliver perfect airplanes each and every time.”A Copa Airlines jet became the first MAX 9 aircraft to return to service on Thursday. FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese and Reuters contributed to this report.
