Evan Hoopfer4 hours ago
Southwest Airlines announced it was again extending the return timeline of the 737 Max.
Southwest
Southwest Airlines again pushed back the projected return of the 737 Max to its network in what it hopes will be the final such delay.
In a widely expected move, Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) announced Thursday it projects the 737 Max to return to its schedule Aug. 11. Previously, the Dallas-based airline had the plane off its schedule until June 7.
That timeline was thrown into flux when Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) said in January it didn't expect the beleaguered 737 Max to be recertified until "mid-2020."
Once the plane is eventually recertified, airlines, like Southwest, will need to conduct several weeks of preparation to get the plane back in the sky. That will likely include pilots spending time in a flight simulator, a measure Boeing changed its mind about after previously saying it didn't think that step was necessary.
This latest revision by Southwest means it's cancelling approximately 371 flights a day from its schedule out of 4,000 daily flights, and it'll be without the plane for almost all of the lucrative summer travel period.
The 737 Max is seriously hampering growth plans at Southwest. The carrier
planned to grow to never-before seen levels in Atlanta, Denver and Baltimore over the summer.
The carrier had 34 737 Max planes in its fleet at the time of the March 2019 grounding and was supposed to have 75 Max planes in its fleet at the end of 2019. Additionally, it was supposed to take delivery of another 38 planes this year.
Southwest and Boeing reached a settlement in December for the financial damages the carrier incurred because of the 737 Max saga. The two companies will negotiate a settlement for 2020 damages at a later date.
The 737 Max has been grounded since March 2019 after it crashed for the second time in a five-month period. Between the two crashes, 346 people died.
American Airlines and United Airlines also operate the 737 Max, while Delta Air Lines does not.