Major airline warns of severe cutbacks after Boeing delays

Tue, 12 Mar, 2024 - 19:57

Eamon Quinn

Southwest Airlines, a major Boeing customer in the US, has warned it will cut flights due to new plane delays from the US plane maker.

Boeing woes deepened after US regulators moved in to scrutinise the firm after a panel blew off an airborne Boeing Max 9 plane above Portland, Oregon in January. That led to delivery delays of planes for airlines, including Southwest and Ryanair, which are among the world's largest Boeing customers.

Southwest said on Tuesday it now doesn’t expect to receive any of its Max 7 aircraft this year, and will receive only 46 Max 8 models. The airline plans to cut capacity in 2024 and it’s reducing most hiring — including 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flight attendants — as it reviews its spending plans in response to reduced deliveries from Boeing.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told reporters late last month it would pare its summer schedule after Boeing told the airline it would deliver 10 fewer Max 8 planes than anticipated. The airline subsequently confirmed it expected to get just 40 of the 57 planned Max 8 planes.

Mr O'Leary told the media gathering that Ryanair still expected to start taking delivery in less than 36 months of a huge order for Boeing Max 10 planes. The Max 10 has yet to be certified and some experts believe regulators will not give their approval this year.

At a JPMorgan US investor event on Tuesday, United Airlines chief Scott Kirby said he’d gone as far as telling Boeing to stop building the Max 10 jets for the carrier because the timeline for certification of the largest variant of the single-aisle jet has become so uncertain.

A spokesman for Ryanair told the Irish Examiner there have been no further updates since a March 1 statement.