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Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly rides Boeing's 737 Max as carrier readies to unground fleet
Southwest Airlines won't fly the 737 Max for passengers until March but is planning 'hundreds' of test flights before then.
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are parked on the tarmac after being grounded, at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif., on March 28, 2019.(Mark Ralston / Getty Images)
By Kyle Arnold
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly and a small crew took a test flight on a Boeing 737 Max on Wednesday to show that the plane that was grounded for nearly two years will be safe for the carrier to fly again in the coming months.
Kelly posted photos and a message about the flight on Twitter, saying that it will be "one of hundreds of such flights that will take place before we welcome customers back onboard the MAX in 2021."
"My flight today only reaffirmed my supreme confidence in the airworthiness of the MAX," Kelly said in the post.
Today, I had the opportunity to fly on one of our 737 MAX Readiness Flights, one of hundreds of such flights that will take place before we welcome Customers back onboard the MAX in 2021. My flight today only reaffirmed my supreme confidence in the airworthiness of the MAX. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Fk8eW4layR
— Gary Kelly (@gary_kelly) December 23, 2020
The jet flew from Phoenix, a major airport for Southwest, to Dallas, where the company is headquartered. It was actually the seventh flight in the last month for this particular 737 Max 8, according to Flightaware.com.
Airlines have been making preparations to put the Boeing 737 Max back into regular commercial service since the Federal Aviation Administration recertified it last month. The plane was grounded for nearly two years after deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that were tied to a faulty software system that sent the jets barreling toward the ground and killed 346 people.
Meanwhile, the family members of victims of the Ethiopia crash have been urging airlines and aviation regulators to hold back on allowing the 737 Max to fly. On Friday, a U.S. Senate investigation was released that said Boeing inappropriately coached pilots during 737 Max recertification flights, another blow to the credibility of the airplane manufacturer and the FAA.
Dallas-based Southwest is the largest 737 Max owner in the world, and its all Boeing 737 fleet depends on this new, more fuel-efficient aircraft for its future operation plans. The company owns 34 of the planes, which were mostly stored in Victorville, Calif., during the grounding but are now being moved to Southwest maintenance bases across the country.
Southwest also plans to take delivery of 35 more 737 Max jets before the end of 2021, including 16 leased planes.
Even with air travel demand down significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and plenty of aircraft to spare, Southwest said it plans to bring the 737 Max back in March.
Southwest's own customer surveys have shown that about 25% of passengers are uncomfortable with the 737 Max, but the company's leaders hope that number will decrease as more planes enter service.
Journey back for Boeing's 737 Max begins with American Airlines demo flights
American Airlines has begun a series of Boeing 737 Max flights ahead of regularly scheduled passenger service more than 20 months after the jets were grounded worldwide after deadly crashes that shook the aviation world.
Cross-town rival American Airlines plans to be the first U.S. carrier to bring the Max back with customer flights on Dec. 29 from Miami to New York. American CEO Doug Parker and other executives took a test flight on Dec. 1 ahead of a media and employee flight on Dec. 2 between Dallas and Tulsa to show off the company's maintenance base in Tulsa.
In fact, Mexican carrier AeroMexico and Brazil's Gol airline started flying routes already on the 737 Max, even while some international regulators wait to bring the plane back.
Southwest is taking a slower approach, as is Chicago-based United, which said it plans to conduct its first passenger 737 Max flights in February.
Southwest has targeted March, saying it needs to put all 9,000 pilots through 737 Max training before it conducts the first commercial flight.
With Boeing 737 Max ungrounded, airlines begin work to move jets out of desert parking lots
After parking planes in open desert locations for 20 months, American Airlines and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines are beginning the complex task of moving dozens of planes and preparing them inside and out, along with training pilots and getting ready to deal with a public anxious about the beleaguered jet.
Kyle Arnold. Kyle Arnold is the aviation writer for The Dallas Morning News, covering airlines, air travel and the aerospace industry. He previously worked as a business journalist for the Orlando Sentinel, Tulsa World and The Monitor in McAllen. He is a University of Washington graduate.
kyle.arnold@dallasnews.com /bykylearnold kylelarnold