International Courant
Boeing 737 MAX plane are parked at a Boeing facility in Renton, Washington on August 13, 2019.
David Ryder | Getty Photos
Southwest Airways mentioned Tuesday it must alter its capability plans and reevaluate its monetary forecasts for the 12 months, citing delays within the provide of Boeingthe only provider of plane.
The Dallas-based airline mentioned Boeing has knowledgeable Southwest leaders that it will probably anticipate 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this 12 months, down from 58. Southwest had anticipated Boeing to ship 79 Max planes, together with among the smallest mannequin, the Max 7, has not but obtained certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Due to the delays, Southwest mentioned in a submitting that it’s “reevaluating all earlier steering for full 12 months 2024, together with the expectation for capital expenditures.”
Southwest’s statements, forward of a JPMorgan business convention on Tuesday, are the newest signal of how Boeing’s high quality management disaster and manufacturing issues — each earlier than and after a door plug was blown out Alaska Airways flight in January – weighing on a few of its finest clients.
Alaska Airways mentioned in a submitting Tuesday that 2024 capability “is in flux resulting from uncertainty relating to the timing of plane deliveries ensuing from elevated Federal Aviation Administration and Division of Justice scrutiny of Boeing and its operations.”
Final week, United instructed employees it must pause pilot hiring this spring resulting from late-arriving Boeing planes, CNBC reported. Southwest mentioned it stopped hiring pilots, flight attendants and different employees this 12 months and expects to finish 2024 with a decrease workforce than final 12 months.
Southwest shares fell greater than 12% in morning buying and selling. The airline mentioned leisure bookings within the first quarter have been weaker than anticipated and expects unit income to be flat and up not more than 2% from a 12 months earlier, in contrast with a January estimate of a rise of as a lot as 4.5%.
Boeing didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
