Boeing and American Airlines have completed the first landing gear exchange on a 737 MAX, extending Boeing’s Landing Gear Exchange Program to the MAX family for the first time. The work covered both the main and nose landing gear assemblies and used overhauled, Boeing-certified units supplied with installation kits, while wheels, tyres and brakes were excluded.
The exchange took place in Plano, Texas, where Boeing is positioning the programme as a way to cut aircraft downtime and reduce the spare-parts burden for operators by delivering ready-to-install assemblies. It also validates an end-to-end process that combines overhaul, certification and delivery for Boeing’s newest single-aisle aircraft.
Boeing’s landing gear exchange offering has previously been used on other aircraft types, but the MAX application widens its scope to the latest 737 variant. The company did not identify the specific American Airlines aircraft involved or the exact maintenance location beyond the Texas dateline.