Some 380 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft delivered before the type's March 2019 grounding are gradually re-entering service, while 400-plus new-build MAX planes built during the grounding but not yet delivered are finding operational homes - whether with their original customers or with different ones. As they do, industry opinion varies as to whether 737 MAX MRO will be affected in the future. Just as important is the closely related question of whether the 737 MAX grounding will affect the MRO industry more generally in future years - particularly when its effects on the air transport business are considered in tandem with the effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the commercial aviation sector globally. Two schools of thought exist on the extent of the effect the 737 MAX grounding will have directly on future MRO capacity for the type, and also for future MRO capacity generally. One view, argued compellingly by Phil Seymour, CEO of aviation technical consulting firm IBA Group, holds that deferrals of calendar-dependent MRO items granted to operators of previously in-service 737 MAXs by the FAA and EASA during the grounding will mean "a lot of catching-up of deferred items" in the next few years.
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