Boeing expects US regulators will conduct a test flight of a software fix for the grounded 737 MAX by the end of next week.
This is according to a company spokesman who was speaking after the company's shareholder general meeting in Chicago.
He said Boeing expects the certification of the software fix - a key step in returning the planes to the skies - some time after the Federal Aviation Administration meeting with international regulators on May 23rd.
The plane was grounded worldwide in mid-March following a second deadly crash, but US carriers have said they expect to resume flights on the popular 737 MAX over the summer.
Earlier, Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg faced shareholders for the first time since two fatal crashes that led to the 737 MAX's grounding worldwide and triggered investigations, lawsuits and a sharp loss in share value.
Battling the biggest crisis of his tenure, Muilenburg attempted to bolster investor confidence in the manufacturer's future as well as that of its fastest-selling plane as questions linger over the model's safety.
Boeing has been under pressure to deliver a software fix and a new pilot training package that will convince global regulators, and the flying public, that the aircraft is safe to fly again.
Some pilots have warned that draft training proposals do not go far enough to address their concerns.
Meanwhile, deliveries of the 737 MAX, which airlines around the world had been relying on to service a growing air travel industry for years to come, are on hold.
Last week Boeing abandoned its 2019 financial outlook, halted share buybacks and said lowered production due to the 737 MAX grounding had cost it at least $1 billion so far.
Shareholders have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding them by concealing safety deficiencies in the plane.
The model is also the target of investigations by US transportation authorities and the Department of Justice.
Muilenburg is Boeing's chairman and president in addition to CEO.
Shareholders rejected a resolution that could have stripped him of one of those titles. Boeing had recommended against the move.
Shares in the company, worth $214 billion, have lost nearly 10% of their value since the crashes.
