Southwest Airlines says bookings strong, may not always be 737-only carrier

Southwest Airlines forecast better-than-expected Q2 revenue growth Thursday, citing demand from leisure and business customers, even as the carrier is forced to cancel flights due to the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX jets. Southwest, which currently uses only Boeing 737 narrowbody aircraft, suggested Thursday that it may consider mixing up its fleet in the future. "We're an all-Boeing 737 carrier," Southwest CE Gary Kelly said. "That doesn't mean that we’ll be an all-737 carrier into perpetuity." It is not the first time Southwest has hinted about fleet changes, which could benefit Airbus, but such a decision would mean abandoning Southwest's long-held practice of flying only one type of jet, which reduces maintenance and pilot training costs. Another option would be to add a different Boeing model. <br/>