Outage: Southwest orders 100 additional Boeing 737 MAX

Southwest Airlines today placed a large order for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The low-cost US airline has ordered 100 737 MAX jets, along with options for 155 more. The agreement strengthens Southwest’s MAX commitment to more than 600 aircraft, split between the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 7 variants.

Southwest Maintains Commitment to an All-Boeing Fleet

Southwest Airlines reaffirmed its commitment to Boeing and the besieged 737 MAX today, placing the largest order since the type was grounded in late 2020. The airline has placed a firm order for 100 aircraft, in addition to placing options for 155 additional jets.

Gary Kelly, President and CEO of Southwest commented:

“Southwest Airlines has operated the Boeing 737 series for almost 50 years, and the aircraft have made a significant contribution to our unprecedented success. Today’s commitment to the 737 MAX solidifies our continued appreciation for the aircraft and confirms our intention to deliver the Boeing 737 series of aircraft to our employees and customers for years to come.

“We are proud to continue our tradition of being the world’s largest operator of a fully Boeing fleet.”

Southwest has been mulling over what to replace its aging 737-700s with, and it has been said that it sees the Airbus A220 as a fit for the 140-150 seat slot. However, today’s deal confirms that Southwest remains committed to Boeing and that this need for smaller aircraft will be met by the 737 MAX 7.

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No Airbus for the southwest

While the order for the 737 MAX will be a blow to Airbus, possibly in the hope of adding another US airline to its list of A220 operators, for Boeing it is a much-needed sign of confidence in the MAX program. . The airline reportedly undertook a multi-year review of its fleet, which led to a large order today.

The airline has already made commitments with Boeing for a number of MAX jets. If it goes ahead with the options in today’s deal, Boeing will end up building more than 600 737 MAXs for Southwest Airlines.

In total, Southwest’s backlog now stands at 200,737 MAX 7 and 180,737 MAX 8. More than 30 of these have already been delivered to the airline. On top of that, the airline now has a total of 270 options for either of the two models. Southwest is also planning additional MAX capacity through agreements with third party lessors.

Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, commented on today’s orders, saying:

“Southwest Airlines has long been a leader and voice of the airline industry and this order is a great vote of confidence for commercial air travel. As vaccine distribution continues to accelerate, people are returning to the skies and harboring hopes for a full recovery and renewed growth in our industry.

“We are deeply honored by Southwest’s continued confidence in Boeing and the 737. Their fleet decision today brings more stability to our largest commercial program and will ensure that our entire 737 family will build new aircraft for Southwest for the United States. years to come.”

While there was a lot of buzz about a possible order for the A220 from the southwest, many thought it was nothing more than hot air – perhaps a dime. ‘swap for the airline to strike a global deal on its new 737s. Today that sentiment seems to have been correct as Southwest will remain a fully Boeing-737 operator for many years to come.