Southwest holds on to its 737-700s

By July 29, 2019 January 16th, 2020 General News

The continued grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX is taking a significant toll on many carriers in the US, none more so than Southwest Airlines, the world’s largest operator of the type. The carrier’s schedule has taken a massive hit, with countless flights cancelled. In order to preserve as much capacity as possible, the airline has announced that it will be retaining its 737-700s and, not retiring the type, which had been planned to occur about now.

Much of Southwest’s fleet consists of Boeing 737-700s and the MAX series was intended to replace this older model in service as soon as possible. Now, according to CH-Aviation reports, Southwest Airlines is delaying retirement of several -700s. The original plan was for 18 Boeing 737-700s to end their operational service this year. Now, the airline will keep seven in service until further notice. This means that only 11 Boeing 737-700s will be withdrawn.