Southwest ups 737 Max sim order, first to go online in October

Southwest ordered another three Boeing 737 Max simulators from flight training company CAE in Q2 2019, doubling its Max simulator orders ahead of the expected lifting of the Max's global grounding. Simulator company CAE disclosed Southwest's three-unit order Wednesday. The airline has already received, and is now setting up, one 737 Max full-flight simulator, the carrier's VP of flight operations Alan Kasher said last week. Southwest expects that unit will be operational in October. It anticipates having another two Max simulators online early in Q1 2020, followed by the final three in 2021, Kasher said. Other airlines are also acquiring Max simulators following two crashes that prompted the grounding. American Airlines has "one simulator that is in the process of being installed", and United anticipates receiving its first simulator in Q1 2020, those carriers say. Neither American nor United have said how many additional Max simulators they have on order.<br/>