Boeing is telling customers and suppliers that the 737 MAX will not receive its first regulatory approvals until “mid-2020,” which all but ensures MAX operators will not have the aircraft before the peak mid-year travel period ends.

Boeing is conducting taxi and final system tests of the 777-9 at its Everett, Washington site where, depending on weather and other factors, it hopes to conduct the long-awaited first flight of its new long-range 777X flagship family as early as Jan. 23.

China Southern Airlines expects to receive its first COMAC ARJ21 regional jet in March, the airline said, detailing initial operations.

Airbus will build another final assembly line for the A321neo in Toulouse, a consequence of high demand for the aircraft and serious production problems at its Hamburg site.

Kopter is advancing development of its single-engine SH09 in Sicily.

Could it be the end of Bombardier Aviation?

Boeing stakeholders may find out more information about the costs of the 737 MAX fiasco during the company’s Jan. 29 report on 2019 financial results. While Boeing previously identified $5.6 billion in pretax customer compensation for aircraft operators, and added $3.6 billion to the 737’s program accounting block-cost, financial analysts, consultants and others see those figures as just a beginning.

The FAA’s certification process is not fundamentally flawed and “was followed” during the Boeing 737 MAX certification, but shortcomings in key guidance, global perspective, safety assessments, and agency staffing should be addressed to improve the system, an independent committee’s report found.