Seats on next MAX flights reportedly for sale

Major airlines reportedly are selling seats on future Boeing 737 MAX flights even as the planes remain grounded worldwide, but US carriers said they have taken no such action and hope to return the aircraft to service later this year.

The London Times reported Sunday that airlines have scheduled about 32,600 flights using MAX jets by the end of year, an apparent bet the planes will be returned to service quickly despite lack of approval from regulators in the US, Europe and Asia.

Major US airlines discounted the report.

"We have no current plans to operate MAX revenue flights for the remainder of 2019," Southwest Airlines said in a statement. "We are in the process of removing all MAX flying through January 5, 2020, and notifying affected customers to offer rebooking options."

American Airlines said it has canceled MAX flights through Nov 2 and hasn't yet made an announcement about rebooking canceled flights. The airline said it "remains confident" MAX jets will be recertified for commercial service this year.

United Airlines said it has canceled MAX flights through at least Nov 3. In July, the airline said it planned to buy 19 used Boeing 737-700 jets to fill the gap created by the worldwide grounding of MAX aircraft.

Boeing said it has completed the software update for MCAS and is working with the FAA to get the plane back in the air.

In June, the US Federal Aviation Administration said there is no "prescribed timeline" for returning MAX jets to commercial service and noted it "will lift the aircraft's prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so".

"Our best current estimate is a return to service of the MAX that begins early in the fourth quarter," Boeing said in a statement. "Timing on return to service will be driven by the FAA and global regulators."

Analysts estimate it would take at least 45 days to return the grounded aircraft to commercial services after securing regulatory approval.

Boeing MAX jets were grounded worldwide following crashes March 10 in Ethiopia and Oct 20, 2018, in Indonesia that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew.