Everything travelers need to know about Boeing 737 Max
developments What started as a nightmare scenario - two crashes of the same type of jet within five months that killed 346 people - has turned into a global aviation chess game of the highest stakes. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide following the second crash, in March, and there is no indication when it will be allowed to fly again. The Chicago-based manufacturer is addressing issues with the flight-control system that appears to have played a role in both the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in Ethiopia. Boeing executives have said they are planning for the jet to come back early in the fourth quarter of this year, but nothing has been confirmed, and regulators still must sign off. On Monday, new Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Stephen Dickson said during his swearing-in ceremony the return would not be rushed. "This plane will not fly in commercial service again until I am completely assured that it is safe to do so," he said. "The FAA is not following any timeline for returning the aircraft to service. Rather, we are going where the facts lead us and diligently ensuring that all technology and training is present and correct before the plane returns to passenger service." [Boeing reports its worst-ever financial losses as 737 Max crisis continues] In the meantime, airlines have canceled thousands of flights on both the Max 8, the specific aircraft involved in the crashes, and Max 9, another aircraft in the series; scrapped routes; deserted airports; and taken financial hits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Carriers are adjusting their fleets and schedules to not only make up for the planes that are out of service, but also compensate for the new planes that were on order that will now be delayed. Even with those disruptions, consumers have thus far largely been shielded because this new model was not yet ubiquitous. Although Boeing says the 737 Max was its fastest-selling aircraft, with about 5,000 orders from more than 100 customers, fewer than 400 have been delivered to airlines around the world. According to Bloomberg, just 3 percent of the mainline fleet in the United States is made up of the aircraft. Still, the aviation industry is scrambling, and it's getting more likely that everyday travelers might feel the pinch. These are some of the developments in the industry that have been most likely to affect travelers: March 24, 2019: American Airlines extends cancellations through April 24, announcing that it expects to cancel 90 flights a day. The airline operates 24 Boeing Max planes. Southwest Airlines, which has 34 of the aircraft, says the following day that it has an average of 130 cancellations a day out of more than 4,000 flights systemwide. April 11: Southwest says it is removing the aircraft from its schedule through Aug. 5, resulting in about 160 flight cancellations a day, USA Today reports. [Airline ends trans-Atlantic routes due to 737 Max grounding] April 14: American Airlines again extends cancellations, this time through Aug. 19. The carrier says the move will affect about 115 flights a day. United, which has 14 of the jets, follows suit and stretches cancellations into early July after trying to minimize the number of flights it would cut, CNBC reports. May 7: A survey of 1,765 fliers by Barclays, the investment bank, showed that 52 percent of respondents said they would prefer to fly on a different type of plane. Just 20 percent said they would fly on a 737 Max as soon as they returned to the skies, while 39 percent said they would return within a few months, and 44 percent said they would wait a year or more.  June 26: During testing, the FAA identifies a new potential issue related to the flight-control computer that could delay the jet's return even longer. July 2: Media reports reveal that American has temporarily axed a daily nonstop flight between Dallas and Oakland, Calif., because of the Max grounding. The Points Guy, an airline news site, reports that Southwest has suspended at least 13 routes because of the ordeal. July 12: United announces plans to pull Max flights from its schedule through Nov. 3. The airline says it expects to cancel nearly 8,200 flights between July and November as a result. American follows, extending cancellations through Nov. 1. Nearly a week later, Southwest removes the Max from its schedule through Nov. 2, resulting in 180 fewer flights a day. [Southwest will no longer fly out of Newark because of Boeing 737 Max groundings] July 15: Facing uncertainty over the aircraft's future, budget carrier Ryanair says it is deciding which airports it will fly to less frequently and which it will cut altogether, CNN reports. July 24: Boeing reports its worst quarterly loss in history: $3.38 billion. The company warns that it may have to suspend production of the 737 Max after slowing down production earlier. July 25: Southwest pulls out of Newark Liberty International Airport altogether, consolidating its regional operations at LaGuardia in New York City. Executives say the airline will remove the Boeing Max from the schedule through Jan. 5, 2020. July 30: CNN reports that United will temporarily cut its daily round-trip flight between Chicago and Leon, Mexico, effective Sept. 3. Aug. 13: Blaming the grounding, Norwegian Air cuts flights between Dublin and three North American cities. The budget airline says it will no longer serve New York's Stewart Airport, in the Hudson Valley; T.F. Green Airport, near Providence, R.I.; and John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario. Aug. 13: Boeing reports that no one ordered a Max jet in July, the fourth straight month without a new order, CNBC reports. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/08/14/everything-travelers-need-know-about-boeing-max-developments/ Back to Top |
Southwest, a stalwart Boeing 737 MAX customer, eyes other
jets Southwest Airlines, the largest customer of the 737 MAX and long an all-Boeing airline, insists it has "no current plans" to fly any jets other than the 737. But it's at least eyeing the possibility. The airline's management has proposed new language in the contract with its flight-attendants union that would grant it the flexibility "to fly more narrowbody aircraft types." Southwest management told the union, TWU Local 556, in a proposal this month that the ability to operate aircraft other than the 737 "would give us the flexibility ... to better compete and grow." "We are flying to more destinations that vary in distance, size and seasonality," the company's proposal states. "This change would allow us to fly aircraft types that are better suited for some of the markets we serve." The grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX has hit Southwest hard. The airline has 280 of the jets on order, of which 34 were delivered and in passenger service before the grounding. Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in an interview that the carrier's chief executive, Gary Kelly, "has bet the company on the MAX." The airline has parked its current fleet of MAXs at an airfield in Victorville, California. And it has another 41 contracted MAX deliveries for the remainder of this year that Boeing will hold until it gets clearance for the jet to fly passengers again. At this point, those aircraft won't be in service until next year. The 75 jets parked or awaiting delivery represent 10 percent of Southwest's active fleet of 750 aircraft, putting the low-cost-carrier at a competitive disadvantage against other airlines with fewer MAXs or, as is the case with rival Delta, none. In April, as anger against Boeing built among U.S. airline pilots after the second MAX crash in Ethiopia, Weaks wrote a memo to SWAPA pilots noting that some were questioning the wisdom of an all-737 fleet. Weaks wrote that his pilots as well as Wall Street analysts have discussed "the advantages and disadvantages of an airline having a single fleet and having aircraft from only one manufacturer." He also referred to Boeing's size and enormous influence in the aerospace world "and the antitrust issues that accompany this long-overlooked issue." This year, there was speculation that Southwest might buy the new Airbus A220, an all-new jet formerly known as the CSeries that the European jet maker acquired from Bombardier of Canada. Delta is now using that very fuel-efficient plane, which is small but offers the cabin comfort of bigger jets, to connect city pairs with high business demand, including Seattle-San Jose. At a conference in March, five days before the second MAX crash, CEO Kelly admitted that Southwest has looked at the A220 but said that was just normal due diligence to assess all options. "As new technology comes onto the market, I think we're compelled to look at that," Kelly said. But he added that it would take "a really compelling business case for us to deviate from" the current all-737 fleet. That was before the MAX was grounded. Asked again on an earnings call last month about whether he might look at buying different jets, Kelly said it's a longer-term strategic decision that wouldn't solve the immediate problem. "I think it's something that needs to be fully explored and debated, and that's not something we're going to do in 90 days," he said. "As a practical matter, if we want to diversify the fleet, it would take us years." Asked if Airbus is "circling you more aggressively" during the MAX crisis, Kelly said, "Yes, that's always the case." But he again insisted that "right now, we don't see that we need a change in strategy." Responding via email to an inquiry Tuesday, Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin said, "Southwest has no current plans to pursue or introduce a new fleet type." The negative impact of the MAX grounding has led Wall Street analysts to wonder if Southwest may even consider acquiring another airline and bringing in different jets that way. Kelly pointed out in July that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules mean "we can't comment on anything like that in substance" beyond saying that such a step would be "a huge strategic question." So does the proposed new language in the flight-attendant union contract indicate a shift in thinking? TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery said that when union negotiators asked management if they intended to bring in a new aircraft type in the future, "they said they had no plans." Pilot union president Weaks said that no new aircraft could be introduced without negotiating with SWAPA the pay rates for flying it. "There's been no communication to us at all" on the issue, he said. Harbin said the proposed clause in the flight-attendant contract is simply intended to provide the option to diversify in future. "It is somewhat common at the negotiating table to discuss items that give you flexibility upfront for things you don't currently have or even have a plan for," she said. Still, in the corporate world, "no current plan" is a response that can change with a simple announcement. That the 737's largest customer, after what Boeing notes is a "48-year partnership," is even contemplating the idea - one that its CEO says "needs to be fully explored" - may be unnerving enough for Boeing. |
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