Boeing reportedly hosted key people in the aviation industry at its Seattle-area facilities on Tuesday as it tries to build confidence in the troubled 737 MAX.
CNBC reported the invitations for private briefings were designed to build confidence in the plane, which has been grounded since two crashes killed 346 people.
"This is part of the campaign, if you want to call it that, to convince people that they got it right this time and when the airplane does return to service it's going to be safe," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant with Leeham Company.
Boeing does not yet have to convince passengers to get on the planes because it's still not clear when regulators will green-light the MAX.
The company had been hoping for recertification by the end of the year, but the FAA now says federal officials will personally certify each plane instead of delegating that authority to Boeing.
Boeing is still churning out 42 new MAX planes a month.
The company had warned it might need to pause production if the return-to-service timeline slips.
Hamilton thinks people here won't have to worry about layoffs if recertification happens in January or February.
Weeks after members of Congress grilled Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson is next on the hot seat.
He'll be testifying about aircraft certification December 11.
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