Flight-tracking site FlightRadar24 showed a 737 MAX 7 test plane taking off from Boeing Field near Seattle at 8:17 a.m. local time . It landed in John Rodgers Field outside Honolulu nearly 5.5 hours later to complete the first leg of its trip across the Pacific.
The test plane, which lacks the range for a direct flight, is expected to arrive at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Aug. 7, ahead of a simulator test on Aug. 8 and if all goes well a first flight test in China on Aug. 11, one of the people said. Boeing's 737 MAX remains grounded in China, where trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have cut off sales for years, though Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said last week he still expects the 737 MAX to win approval before year-end.