Southwest Airlines agrees to buy 100 of Boeing’s smallest 737 Max model

Southwest on Monday said it agreed to buy 100 of Boeing’s 737 Max 7 planes as it plans to retire older jets, sticking with the manufacturer that has been the backbone of its fleet for 50 years. The airline said under the agreement it would also convert 70 of its firm orders for Max 8 planes to the smallest and slower-selling jets, the Max 7s. It also added 155 options for 737 Max 7 or Max 8 airplanes through 2029. Southwest, which operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, said its order, the largest Max sale since two crashes caused a worldwide grounding in March 2019, is a vote of confidence in the planes. US regulators lifted the 20-month grounding of the 737 Max in November and many other countries have followed suit since then. The carrier had said it was weighing whether to add Airbus A220 planes to its fleet to replace older Boeing jets, but in October, Southwest’s COO Mike Van de Ven said having two types of planes would be “a big undertaking for us,” citing issues with pilot training and maintenance.<br/>