Southwest Postpones Boeing 737 MAX Order

June 23, 2016

Southwest Airlines will push back the delivery of 67 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft by up to six years, delaying USD$1.9 billion of spending, the airline said.

The budget airline said it postponed the new deliveries to the 2023-25 period to manage its capital spending. It also said in an investor presentation that the revenue environment remained "challenging."

The new schedule does not change Southwest's debut as the first operator of the MAX 8 aircraft next year.

Southwest earlier said it had brought forward plans to retire some older Boeing 737s to the third quarter of 2017 from 2018. The move was in part aimed at resolving uncertainty about US-mandated pilot training for flying those aircraft and the 737 MAX.

(Reuters)