Southwest Airlines has reassessed its fleet plans due to extra scrutiny on Boeing 737 Max production and quality control.
The airline has taken the Boeing 737 Max 7 out of its 2024 fleet plans.
“The Company’s current capacity plans do not assume placing the Max 7 in service this year and is subject to Boeing’s production capability,’ the airline said.
Southwest Airlines was scheduled to receive 85 Boeing 737 Max jets this year.
They are a mix of Max 7 and Max 8.
The Max7 variant still awaits full certification and approvals.
Due to the ongoing uncertainty with this and additional quality checks, it won’t factor in any Max7 jets for its capacity growth projection.
The airline said it will convert some Max 7 aircraft to the Max 8 variant.
”The FAA will ultimately determine the timing of the certification and entry into service, and the company offers no assurances that current timelines are correct”, Southwest said.
United Airlines made a similar determination with its upcoming deliveries of new Boeing Max 10 planes.
Southwest now projects its capacity will increase by about 6%, which is less than half of original estimates.
