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MAX Flight Schedule Revision: An Update From SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Green

rgreen1
Employee
Employee

Southwest Airlines continues to await guidance from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements. We are encouraged by the reported progress and proposed path forward for returning the aircraft to service, and we remain confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX.

 

We previously revised our flight schedule by removing the MAX through Sept. 2 to offer reliability to our operation and stability for our Customers during the busy summer travel months. With the timing of the MAX’s return-to-service still uncertain, we are again revising our plans to remove the MAX from our schedule through Oct. 1.

 

By proactively removing the MAX from scheduled service, we can reduce last-minute flight cancellations and unexpected disruptions to our Customers’ travel plans. The limited number of Customers who have already booked their travel and will be affected by our amended schedule are being notified of their re-accommodated travel according to our flexible accommodation procedures.

 

The revision will proactively remove roughly 150 daily flights from our schedule out of our total peak-day schedule of more than 4,000 daily flights. We offer our apologies to our Customers impacted by this change, and we thank them for their continued patience. 

8 Comments
laurencapitani
Explorer C

Hi Mr. Green,

 

I just sent you a private message through this sytem about another SW matter. Hope it finds you!

 

Thanks,

Lauren Capitani

bec102896
Aviator A

@laurencapitani 

 

Because this is a customer to Customer forum it’s not likely that you will receive a response from him directly. 

 

If you need assistance from Southwest directly I recommend you reach out through one of the ways listed here: Submitting a Suggestion and/or Complaint 

 

if you have a general question we would be glad to assist here with the best of our knowledge as customers.

 

hope this helps

Blake 

laurencapitani
Explorer C

Hi Blake,

 

Thanks for the input. Believe me, we have tried all listed measures to contact anyone useful at the airline, and even to reach Mr. green directly through email and LinkedIn. There is a PM function through this, so assuming he is someone who cares about customers, I am sure he or one of his assitants checks it. Otherwise, he should disbale it. 

 

Thanks!

bec102896
Aviator A

@laurencapitani 

 

Every user has the PM feature I’m not sure if people have a way to disable it. This is primarily a customer to customer platform so the best thing for you to do to reach someone at the airline is using any of the methods in the link above. If your issue is account related your best bet would be Twitter or customer relations (open Monday-Friday). If your curious if you will be on the MAX later on (after October) I can take a peak for you on the website. 

 

-Blake 

Jean_Jasinski
Adventurer C

Are these 150 daily flights being removed now or do you decide each day which 150 flights are cancelled?  I hope the flights are being removed now all at once and not that the airline decides each day which 150 flights are cancelled.  

 

As a frequent traveler, it feels like the latter. I have had flights cancelled 6 hours before the flight due to "predicted weather events" that have not materialized and for which other airlines have not proactively cancelled flights.  I feel like I am tossing the dice with every flight ("C'mon, baby, Mama needs to get to Phoenix") and haven't yet figured out the best booking strategy to ensure I have a good chance to arrive at my destination when I need to be there.  Booking the day I need to be somewhere no longer works (no more flying in the morning for an afternoon meeting). Booking early the day before doesn't always work because I've had flights cancelled without any  availability for the rest of the day. Rebooking to a city 2-hours away incurs extra car rental costs (drop-fee or per mile charge) even if the airfare doesn't change.  Playing the "weather" card is an United Airlines trick to avoid compensating passengers, a practice which SW has used liberally since Max8.

  

SWDigits
Aviator A

@Jean_Jasinski, my understanding, as another customer, is that the 150 flights are being removed now and that Southwest is trying to prevent as many last minute cancellations as possible.

 

I don't know how they optimize the schedule to deal with a fluid environment but my guess is that they are doing everything possible to minimize impact across the route network so that as few customers as possible are impacted.  I think it's a tough balance.

Dan26b
Explorer C

I'm hoping this is the reason for the changes I'm seeing to the "routine" non-stop flight schedule from STL to BOS, and back. I used to be able to book at MUCH more convenient times. Looks like ALL evening nonstop flights, M-F, have been pushed from ~7pm to ~9:30pm. This makes traveling with children a lot more difficult, when you have an arrival time of 1am. Can we expect these schedules to normalize again after the 737 Max issues resolve?

GrayH
Explorer C

Why you should not put the 737 Max back in your fleet even if its allow to fly:

The plane has a design flaw. The software "fixes" are no such thing. They simply consist of software fighting a flawed structural design.
Unfortunately, I have often flown the 737 Max before I was aware of this issue. Even more unfortunate and tragic, someone in my company died as a result of this flaw. She was in the Ethiopia crash.  We all were put a risk for what? For Boeing to make more profits by using a flawed design rather than re-design. Greed over people, plain and simple.

Before you did not know of this design flaw of this aricraft.  Now you do.  So the question for Southwest is, will you be as irresponsible as Boeing and put our lives at risk for profit?  Or will you do the right thing and take this plane off your fleet?