Author: Dawn Gilbertson / Source: USA TODAY
Southwest Airlines celebrated its inaugural Hawaiian flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, with a blessing, hula dancers and more. Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY
Southwest Airlines passengers should brace for flight cancellations through May as the fallout from the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8 continues.
The airline, which has more Max 8s than any U.S. carrier, has decided to keep its 34 Max 8s out of its flight schedule through at least May, according to a memo sent to the airline’s pilots late Friday.
Southwest had removed the planes from its schedule through April 20 but warned earlier this week that it was evaluating “future schedule restrictions.”
The Max 8s make up just a fraction of Southwest’s fleet of 750 aircraft, but 34 fewer planes — which seat 175 passengers and make multiple flights a day — mean fewer flights. Southwest said earlier this week that, through March 31, it has already canceled 2,800 flights due to the Max 8 grounding on March 13.
Those cancellations are in addition to an additional 6,600 in the past six weeks due to winter weather and a labor dispute, all creating a mess for travelers.
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