U.S. Airlines Hold Off Grounding Boeing’s Latest Jet Despite New Calls for Caution
Photo Credit: Southwest Airlines is the largest Boeing 737 Max customer in the United States. It said Monday night it intends to keep flying the jets. Southwest Airlines
Skift Take
U.S. airlines have so far decided not to ground their Boeing 737 Max jets. Will they continue to hold off? Or will they err on the side of caution?
Even as Aeromexico grounded its Boeing 737-8 Max fleet on Monday night, becoming the first North American operator to stop flying the jet, U.S. airlines remained committed to it. They say they're confident in the technologically advanced airplane, even amid growing concerns and new calls for caution.
It is not clear what, if any, financial impact grounding the new Boeing jets might have on the bottom line for airlines, particularly since the 737-8 Max jets represent a relatively small percentage of their total fleets. No U.S. airlines yet have said publicly they are cancelling orders for the new jet.
American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines said late Monday they were closely watching as investigators try to determine what happened to Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed Sunday after departing Addis Ababa. American and Southwest fly the same model, while United operates a larger version, called the Max 9.
The situation is unusual. While it's not unprec
