Southwest Airlines cuts production capacity, suspends hiring due to Boeing impact

Southwest Airlines plans to reduce capacity, reoptimize flight schedules and pause hiring in 2024 as a result of Boeing’s “continued challenges.”

Boeing told Southwest Airlines it expects to deliver 46 Max 8s this year, down from the 58 the plane maker originally expected, according to a regulatory filing. Southwest Airlines expected Boeing to deliver a total of 79 Max jets, including some of the smaller Max 7 variants that have not yet been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Southwest does not expect the Max 7 to “become operational this year based on current certification status.”

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As a result, the company is planning capacity reductions and schedule changes primarily in the second half of this year, “which will likely reduce the company’s full-year 2024 capacity plans by at least 1 percentage point year-on-year. ” according to the filing.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 prepares for takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport on December 29, 2023. (Aaron P/Bauer Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)

To reduce capacity, the airline has “suspended recruitment classes for several workgroups” including pilots and flight attendants.

The company expects its workforce to decline each year and expects to incur a net loss in the first quarter of its fiscal year. However, it is expected to be back in the black by the end of this month.

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This is the second major U.S. airline to have its operations suspended by Boeing, which remains in turmoil after an incident earlier this year in which a door plug exploded on a Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 arrives at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 20, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

United Airlines announced last week that it would suspend pilot hiring for the next few months, citing certification and manufacturing delays at Boeing. The hiatus will only last from May to June, but the company plans to slow its hiring pace into 2024 as well.

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After the Jan. 5 incident, the FAA increased oversight of Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, including halting production expansion of the Max.

Federal authorities have found multiple instances in which Boeing and Spirit allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.

In the preliminary report, National Transportation Safety Board They found four key bolts missing from a door plug that had fallen from a jet.