Southwest sees 737 Max getting regulatory approval in November

Southwest, the largest operator of Boeing’s 737 Max, expects regulators will certify the grounded jet to resume flight before Thanksgiving in the US, clearing the way for much-needed new deliveries by year’s end. “We’re assuming that we will have the go-ahead to return the Max to service by, call it the beginning to mid-November,” Southwest CFO Tammy Romo said Wednesday. United also is eager to get more of the workhorse narrow-body jet, which has been grounded worldwide since March after two crashes killed 346 people. Boeing has made changes to the flight-control system implicated in the disasters and has estimated that the Max would return to service early in the Q4. Southwest -- which had 34 Max aircraft in its fleet when the plane was grounded -- has removed the jet from its schedule until Jan. 5. The airline had expected to receive 16 more this year. The plane represented 8% of Southwest’s capacity, and the grounding has increased costs while it decreased revenue, Romo said. Southwest in July said Max woes had cut $225m from 2019 operating income. The airline will reintegrate the Max in “a very controlled and organized way and ramp up in a manner that we think is prudent,” she said. Investors have expressed concern that a glut of 737s returning to schedules as travel demand typically wanes could pressure fares. The carrier hopes to get “back on track” with its Max delivery schedule by the middle or end of next year, Romo said. Six shipments scheduled for 2020 could shift into the following year, she said.<br/>