Boeing ban stirs up Southwest ‘chaos’
Hobby’s largest carrier also in fight over mechanics’ contracts in busy spring break travel season
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 planes operated by U.S. airlines or flying in U.S. territory, a move that could be particularly damaging to Dallasbased Southwest Airlines.
Southwest, the largest carrier at Houston’s Hobby Airport, operates 34 of the Max 8 planes, more than any other U.S. airline.
There is no timeline for the grounding. The FAA simply said the planes would not fly “pending further investigation” when announcing that the U.S. would join other countries and airlines in banning the aircraft. The action came in the wake of the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 that killed 157 people on Sunday and a Lion Air Max 8 crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people in late October.
The FAA cited newevidence found and ana- lyzed at the Ethiopian crash site for its decision to ground the aircraft, which was announced by President Donald Trump in the early afternoon.
“Any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and thereafter be grounded until further notice,” Trump said.
In a statement, Boeing said it remained confident in the safety of the planes, adding that after consulting with federal and international aviation authorities it recommended the temporary suspension of operations of the 737 Max fleet “out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety.”
The grounding comes during a particularly challenging period for Southwest, which is in the midst of contentious
“The groundings are going to create chaos at Southwest Airlines.” Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst
contract negotiations with the union representing its mechanics.
“The grounding is not inconsequential to Southwest,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel research company Atmosphere Research Group. “There will be a lot of short-term disruption. And part of the challenge for all airlines is how long this grounding will remain in effect.”
According to flight tracking data company FlightAware, five Southwest flights on Max 8 planes were scheduled to depart Hobby on Wednesday. Four took off before Trump’s announcement. Another four flights were scheduled to arrive at Hobby, with one grounded before it could depart for Houston.
At Bush Intercontinental Airport, 11 flights on Max 9 planes were set to depart on Wednesday with eight actually taking off. And 14 flights on Max 9 planes were set to arrive, though some were grounded before departing for Houston on Wednesday.
Chicago-based United Airlines operates 14 of the 737 Max 9 planes, representing about 40 flights a day across its network. Fort Worth-based American Airlines operates 24 of the Max 8 planes.
Airline’s challenges
Southwest’s 34 planes are less than 5 percent of its more than 750-plane fleet. Yet its use on longer flights means the aircraft account for about 6 percent of the airline’s capacity, defined by the industry standard of available seat miles — the number of seats on an airplane multiplied by the number of miles flown, said Joe DeNardi, managing director of financial services firm Stifel.
He said Southwest will try to offset the groundings by using other planes in its fleet and any spare aircraft the company might have. Ultimately, he said Southwest might have to decrease the frequency of some of its flights.
And while he had not been recently updated on the airline’s labor conflicts, DeNardi expected the issues will continue until a new agreement is reached with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.
In February, the airline blamed the union representing its mechanics for an unprecedented number of out-of-service aircraft, linking the grounded planes to contract negotiations that have lingered more than six years.
The union responded that the airline is “scapegoating” its mechanics. A spokesman added that Southwest mechanics have become less fearful to write up legitimate maintenance issues. Mechanics’ attendance and overtime were at normal levels, he said, and they did not call out sick at an increased level or decline overtime work.
Harteveldt noted that the Max 8 groundings are beyond the scope of both Southwest and its union, but it does make their situation worse.
Also adding a complication is Southwest’s route system.
United and American tend to fly nonstop to a hub city and then back to the flight’s city of origin. But a Southwest flight could start its day in Corpus Christi, fly to Hobby and then Dallas, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Jose and Portland before ending the day in Seattle, Harteveldt said.
He said the airline will look at ways to operate with the least amount of disruption, seeking to use its other planes as much as possible and examining if they have to cancel flights.
‘Going to be chaotic’
It doesn’t help that the busy spring break travel period has begun.
“The groundings are going to create chaos at Southwest Airlines,” Harteveldt said. “There’s noway around it. The next couple of days are going to be chaotic if you’re flying Southwest Airlines.”
Still, the scene at Hobby Airport was calm on Wednesday afternoon. A Max 8 plane from Las Vegas landed at 3:10 p.m. with some passengers glad they took off before Trump’s announcement.
Caroline Dabaghi of Houston, however, did not want to be on the Max 8. She tried avoiding it, as the plane made her nervous.
“Before the flight I asked my family to check for me,” she said, “and it wasn’t supposed to be that kind of plane. I wish I would have doublechecked.”
Eddie Langston and his son also arrived on that plane from Las Vegas. Langston wasn’t aware that his flight was on a Max 8 until he saw the information pamphlet in the seatback in front of him.
He said safety concerns gave him pause, but he was not overly worried.
“Of course it crosses your mind,” Langston said, “but Southwest has a good reputation, so we felt safe.”
Like Boeing, Southwest stood by the plane’s safety record.
“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 airline said in a statement. “The safety of our customers and employees is our uncompromising priority.”
The airline plans to operate its schedule with “every available aircraft in our fleet.” Customers on a canceled Max 8 flight won’t have to pay a fare difference if they rebook within 14 days of their original flight and book a new flight between the same two cities.
United Airlines, the largest carrier at Bush Intercontinental Airport, said it had been working on contingency plans since Sunday. It doesn’t expect a significant operational impact.