Adds One More Month To Its Previous Projection

The union representing pilots flying for Southwest Airlines now believes it will be February before the airline returns its Boeing 737 MAX airplanes to service.

CNBC reports that it obtained a letter from SWAPA which indicates that given the steps that will be necessary to recertify the airplane, the union "feels that these timelines are the best case estimates and remain fluid. As of today, we are looking at probably a February timeframe to say the least."

Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said in a statement that the company expects it will take about 120 hours to remove each plane from storage and plans to fly them several hundred hours before placing them back on the schedule. "We continue to assess return to service timing based on information from Boeing and FAA but do not currently have a target date that we are working toward," she said.

The planes are currently off the schedule until January 5. United and American have announced similar cancellations.

When the planes were grounded, Southwest placed 34 airplanes in storage pending recertification. The FAA has not announced a firm timeline for a return to service for the 737 MAX. "The FAA will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when it is deemed safe to do so. The FAA is continuing to evaluate Boeing’s software modification and is still developing necessary training requirements," the agency said in a statement.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report