DALLAS, March 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines
is immediately complying with today's FAA requirement for all U.S.
airlines to ground the Boeing 737 MAX 8. As a result, we have
removed our 34 MAX 8 aircraft from scheduled service. Southwest
operates a fleet of more than 750 Boeing 737s, and the 34 MAX 8
aircraft account for less than five percent of our daily
flights.
We have been in constant contact with the FAA and Boeing since
Ethiopian Airlines' accident last Sunday. While we remain confident
in the MAX 8 after completing more than 88,000 flight hours accrued
over 41,000 flights, we support the actions of the FAA and other
regulatory agencies and governments across the globe that have
asked for further review of the data – including information from
the flight data recorder – related to the recent accident involving
the MAX 8. The Safety of our Customers and Employees is our
uncompromising priority, and today's action reflects the commitment
to supporting the current investigations and regulatory
concerns.
Our goal is to operate our schedule with every available
aircraft in our fleet to meet our Customers' expectations during
the busy spring travel season. Additionally, to support our
Customers, Southwest is offering flexible rebooking policies. Any
Customer booked on a cancelled MAX 8 flight can rebook on alternate
flights without any additional fees or fare differences within 14
days of their original date of travel between the original city
pairs. A Travel Advisory with additional information for Customers
will be posted on Southwest.com.
"During our 48-year history, Southwest has continuously
demonstrated our commitment to Safety," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer. "We sincerely appreciate the trust our
Customers and Employees place in our airline every day, and the
Southwest Team is working diligently to minimize disruptions to our
Customers' travel plans."
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 48th year of
service, Dallas-based Southwest
Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself
from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered
by more than 58,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120
million passengers annually. Southwest became the nation's largest
domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on
the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of
domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons,
Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a
network of 99 destinations in the United
States and 10 additional countries.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.