TUI Boeing 737 MAX Delivery Flight Returns To Seattle

On October 14th, a new Boeing 737 MAX 8 got ready to fly to Brussels to be leased to TUI fly Belgium by the Aviation Capital Group (ACG). However, due to technical problems, the plane unexpectedly returned to Boeing Field in Seattle shortly after departure.

TUI fly Belgium is a fan of the Boeing 737 and now has 25 units of the series in its fleet. Photo: TUI

A quick return

The aircraft with the Belgian registration number OO-TMZ took off about 3.5 hours later than planned. Even when the plane finally took off, it didn’t get that far. Aviation24.be reports that the crew on board Seattle have informed ATC of a flight control problem. The pilots then returned to the Boeing Field after further communication with ATC.

Flight JAF981F took off at 6:33 p.m. PDT and landed 37 minutes later at 7:10 p.m. Aviation24.be takes note of reports of trimming errors in the aircraft’s electrical stabilizers.

The crew members flew near Everett and Bremerton before landing at King County International Airport – Boeing Field. Photo: RadarBox.com

Later success

Nevertheless, the next day the plane hopped over the pond again. On October 15, OO-TMZ, nicknamed Marrakech, left Boeing Field at 4:00 p.m. to land at Brussels Airport at 10:14 a.m. CEST. The total flight time was nine hours and 14 minutes and the aircraft covered a great circle distance of 7,952 km. TUI’s MAX aircraft are familiar with such routes.

The range of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was put to the test on this flight from the US west coast to the Belgian capital. Photo: RadarBox.com

ACG was proud to announce the delivery of this 737 MAX this week. The leasing company emphasized that TUI will benefit from CFM International’s efficient LEAP-1B engines as part of a multi-aircraft transaction between the company and the airline.

“We are pleased to announce the delivery of this Boeing 737-8 MAX to TUI Travel and look forward to expanding our long-term relationship with the TUI Travel team,” said Tom Baker, CEO and President of ACG, in a statement .

Stay informed: Register for our daily and weekly aviation news.

Well known guy

This 737 MAX 8 complements four other units of the model in TUI fly Belgium’s fleet. The first of them, OO-MAX, nicknamed Tenerife Alegría, joined in January 2018. The next unit, OO-TMA (Gran Canaria), was added in March 2018. Then came OO-TMB (Costa Blanca) and OO-TMY (Costa Del Sol) joined in May 2018.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been back in service since the type was released after many years of grounding, and TUI has several units in its branches. Photo: Getty Images

These planes flew to Espargos, Rabil, Tenerife, Palma De Mallorca, Ibiza, Agadir, Heraklion, Las Palmas, Souda, Lanzarote and Hanover in the last week. With increasing passenger activity across Europe, TUI will have a lot of benefits for the newcomer.

Simple Flying asked TUI for a comment on the delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX. We will update the article with further announcements from the airline.

What do you think of the delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX from TUI? What do you think of the airline’s operations with the twinjet in this next chapter? Let us know what you think of the airline and the aircraft in the comments section.