Boeing's MAX certification delay is supported

Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co. received support from a Republican senator and a major customer on Wednesday to ask Congress to extend the certification deadline for two new 737 MAX models.

The U.S. aircraft manufacturer says the FAA must certify the MAX 7 and MAX 10 by December. After that date, all FAA-certified aircraft must have contemporary cockpit alerting systems, which would postpone the deployment of the new MAX aircraft unless Congress grants a waiver.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham told Reuters he supports tying a MAX deadline waiver to a budget package or other measures.

Graham said on the sidelines, "We will fight as hard as we can to give Boeing the opportunity to establish that the plane works and that it does operate."

Congress passed the measures in late 2020 as part of FAA certification modifications after two 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and grounded the best-selling aircraft for 20 months.

On Wednesday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby (NYSE:KEX) endorsed the extension, saying a universal 737 alerting system makes sense. "It's appropriate safety," Kirby told CNBC. "Changing the cockpit is dangerous."

2017 United bought 100 MAX 10s. Kirby said United will convert some orders to MAX 8 and 9 planes and buy additional Airbus 321s without an extension, hurting Boeing's U.S. jobs.

Kirby remarked, "We should all be Boeing fans," citing the company's economic and export benefits.

This month, Senator Roger Wicker failed to attach a restriction extension through September 2024 to a defense deal.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) pilots support the proposal, while American Airlines pilots oppose it.

C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, a commercial pilot who famously landed an Airbus A320 on New York's Hudson (NYSE:HUD) River after hitting a flock of geese, and many MAX crash victims' families are also opposed. "The FAA must require modern crew warning systems," Sullenberger said Friday.

Even with a waiver, MAX planes may not fly for a while.

In an Oct. 12 letter, the FAA stated some crucial material Boeing filed in the agency's ongoing investigation of the MAX 7 is incomplete, and Boeing doesn't expect approval for the MAX 10 until next summer.