Southwest Airlines Joins The Pack, Delays 737 Max Return Until At Least June
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two days after Fort Worth-based American Airlines announced a pushback, Southwest Airlines gave notice that they are delaying putting Boeing 737 Max jets back on their schedule until at least early June.
In a statement airline officials said, "Based on continued uncertainty around the timing of MAX return to service, as well as Boeing's recommendation for Pilot simulator training, the Company is proactively removing the MAX from its flight schedule through June 6, 2020."
The previous delay by the Dallas-based airline had Max planes grounded until after Easter.
While the airline said removing the MAX from the schedule reduces flight cancellations and disruptions, this latest delay means removing some 330 flights from its peak-day schedules.
Southwest had 34 Max jets in their fleet, the most of any airline.
Southwest and American aren't the only carriers delaying the return of the Max jets. United Airlines made the move before Christmas 2019 to remove the planes from their schedule through June 2020.
The 737 Max was grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes that killed 346 people within five months.