The Chicago-based planemaker has been updating the 737 MAX flight control system and software to address issues believed to have played a role in two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people within five months.

Here is how the forecast timing of the fix and flight approval changed over time.

JAN. 21, 2020 - Boeing says it does not expect approval for the 737 MAX to return to service until mid-year

2019

DEC. 16 - Boeing says it will suspend production of the 737 MAX in January

DEC. 12 - Boeing abandons its goal of winning regulatory approval for the 737 MAX to resume flying after the FAA said the plane would not be cleared to fly before 2020

NOV. 15 - The head of the FAA tells his team to "take whatever time is needed" in their review of the 737 MAX

NOV. 11 - Boeing says it expects the FAA to issue an order approving the plane's return to flight in December, forecasting commercial flights to resume in January.

NOV. 7 - U.S. and European regulators ask Boeing to revise documentation on its proposed 737 MAX software fix

OCT. 24 - Boeing says it still expects FAA approval to fly the 737 MAX in the fourth quarter, sending its shares higher despite a slump in quarterly profit. FAA says it will need "several weeks" for review

JULY 18 - Boeing says it has assumed regulatory approval of the 737 MAX's return to service in the U.S. and other jurisdictions will begin early in the fourth quarter

JUNE 27 -  Boeing says it will take until at least September to fix a newly identified problem with software that emerged when FAA test pilots were reviewing potential failure scenarios of the flight control computer in a 737 MAX simulator.

MAY 16 - Boeing says it has completed a software update for its 737 MAX jets and is in the process of submitting a pilot training plan to the FAA

APRIL 6 - Boeing says will cut monthly 737 MAX production by nearly 20%; U.S. and airline officials said they now believe the plane could be grounded for at least two months

MARCH 13 - FAA joins other major global regulators in grounding the 737 MAX, citing evidence of similarities between the two fatal crashes

MARCH 12 - FAA says will mandate that Boeing implement design changes on the 737 MAX by April that have been in the works for months

MARCH 10 - An Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashes, killing all 157 people on board

2018

NOV. 30 - Boeing is weighing plans to launch a software upgrade for its 737 MAX in six to eight weeks that would help address a scenario faced by crew of Indonesia's Lion Air, sources told Reuters

NOV. 13 - FAA, Boeing say they are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 MAX jets following a Lion Air crash

OCT. 29 - A Lion Air 737 MAX plane crashes in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu, Sameer Manekar and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sriraj Kalluvila)