Southwest Airlines stores 350 aircraft, renegotiates delivery schedule with Boeing

Southwest Airlines ended (28-Apr-2020) 1Q2020 with a fleet of 742 aircraft, including approximately 350 in long term storage or temporary parking. The carrier has taken no Boeing 737 MAX deliveries since Feb-2019 and has now entered an agreement with Boeing to receive no more than 48 aircraft until 31-Dec-2021. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the carrier now expects the "MAX to be removed through the end of our published flight schedule date of 30-Oct-2020", with plans to take delivery of less than the 27 MAXs previously expected from Boeing in 2020. Mr Kelly stated: "In light of the current environment, we are in the process of revising our aircraft order book with Boeing and will continue partnering with Boeing on a sensible delivery schedule". The carrier is considering the temporary removal or retirement of more aircraft from its fleet. [more - original PR]