Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) anticipates that Boeing‘s delivery delays will extend into 2025, resulting in fewer new aircraft than previously expected, according to CEO Bob Jordan.
“It’s too early to tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our deliveries from Boeing in ‘25 are lower than we originally thought,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg, noting that Southwest’s current estimates are even more conservative than Boeing’s delivery forecasts.
Jordan expects Boeing will require up to two months to return to standard production rates following a seven-week machinist strike. To manage overstaffing in some areas, Southwest recently offered voluntary redundancies to ground staff and reduced hiring as the airline faces lower capacity due to the delayed aircraft deliveries.
According to Southwest’s third-quarter financial results, the company expects to receive seventy-three B737 MAX aircraft in 2025, including forty-four B737-7s, twenty-one B737-8s, and eight more planes of either type. However, the -7 variant has yet to receive the required certifications from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This revised delivery forecast reflects a decrease from the original 86 aircraft Southwest had anticipated for 2025 based on prior estimates from 2023. “The company will continue to closely monitor the ongoing aircraft delivery delays with Boeing and adjust expectations as needed,” a Southwest statement read.
In 2024, Southwest had 85 contractual deliveries, but it received 20 (all B737-8s) between January and October.