How many 737 are in service

Most of Southwest's s are equipped with Split Scimitar Winglets, and the Company is currently replacing the Blended Winglets with Split Scimitar Winglets on some of its s. The Split Scimitar Winglet adds new strengthened stringers at the wing, aerodynamic scimitar tips, and a large ventral strake to the existing Blended Winglet while also providing additional incremental fuel savings beyond the approximate 3.

In total, the Company's winglet program saved more than 82 million gallons of fuel in In , Southwest became the first carrier to offer gate-to-gate connectivity. Customers may use small portable electronic devices PEDs in "airplane mode" from gate-to-gate on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Southwest Airlines Customer Representatives handle, on average, 80, calls daily; , calls weekly; and 2. Approximately Received , applications and hired 6, Employees. Served an estimated 90 million bags of pretzels.

Moved more than million pounds of cargo. Back to Top Southwest. Southwest was the first airline to establish a home page on the Internet. Initially, five Employees comprised Southwest's web site development Team, and the site took about nine months to create.

The "Low Fare Calendar" feature on Southwest. In , a new site search tool was added to Southwest. Rapid Rewards Enrollment forms were updated with a modern look and feel to ease the enrollment process.

Southwest launched new versions of both the Southwest iOS and Android and Southwest mobile web site in Chairman David Calhoun officially replaced Muilenburg on Jan. Calhoun had defended Muilenburg before taking the top role, but in a March 5, interview with the New York Times he said his predecessor had needlessly rushed production of the Max before the company was ready.

Separately, on Oct. The agency quickly came under fire on multiple fronts over the crashes. Under an FAA program, Boeing was allowed to participate in the process, meaning that it inspected its own plane. But on Jan. In its report, the committee found no significant problems with how the Max was cleared to fly.

Though the committee said the FAA could improve the certification process, it saw no need for substantial changes. Those findings were largely echoed by a report from the Department of Transportation inspector general's office on Feb.

Though the page report said the FAA didn't deviate from an established protocol when it first cleared the plane to fly in , it significantly misunderstood the MCAS flight control system. Outside of the certification process, the FAA slapped Boeing with two fines for installing substandard or unapproved equipment in some Max planes.

Positioned at the leading edge of each wing, slats are deployed at takeoff and landing to provide more lift. The FAA also accused Boeing of installing a guidance system on Max planes that used sensors that hadn't been properly tested.

It said "acts, omissions, and errors occurred across multiple stages and areas of the development and certification of the MAX. On Sept. And as for the FAA, "the fact that a compliant airplane suffered from two deadly crashes in less than five months is clear evidence that the current regulatory system is fundamentally flawed and needs to be repaired.

Then on Dec. Among other things the bill eliminates some parts of the process that allows manufacturers to certify their own planes and creates new safety review procedures and whistleblower protections. First off, Max airlines had to look for parking spaces for the roughly Max aircraft Boeing had delivered by the time the worldwide order went into effect.

That's a tremendously complicated effort by itself. But while airlines can't fly the plane except to ferry empty aircraft from one airport to another Boeing was able to conduct test flights for evaluating its proposed fixes. On May 16, , the company said its updates were largely complete after more than test flights.

Five months later, on Oct. It also had conducted simulator tests for participants from more than customers and regulators. Boeing provided a further progress report Nov. Boeing and the FAA finally began the recertification flights on June The flights attempted to trigger the steps that led to the two crashes and confirm that MCAS isn't activating erroneously.

Speaking to reporters after the flight he said he "liked what I saw. The agency lifted the order on Nov. The mandatory fixes include :. Outside of MCAS, the FAA identified other modifications Boeing must make, including separating two bundles of wiring that power control surfaces on the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer to ensure redundancy if one of the bundles fails. Not everyone is trusting in the FAA's decision, though. On March 10, relatives of some of the Ethiopian crash victims asked the agency to reverse its decision.

It took lobbying from pilots and regulatory officials from other countries, like Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau, to change that decision. They won an influential supporter on June 19, , when " Miracle on the Hudson " Capt.

Chesley B. He also said the original design of MCAS was "fatally flawed and should never have been approved. On Jan. Simulator sessions will require extra time and expense for airlines struggling to get their Max fleets back in the air.

Before airlines can fly the Max again, Boeing must work with them to make the required fixes and retrain pilots. Only then will the FAA sign off on certification for each aircraft. Preparing Airplanes Airplanes that have been in storage must undergo a comprehensive activation process before they can be considered ready for return to service. Inspecting Airplanes After each airplane is prepared, it will be thoroughly inspected against a robust set of criteria defined by regulators.

Frequently Asked Questions. Here are answers to common questions about safely returning the and to service. What is the Angle Of Attack? When is MCAS activated? The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System MCAS only activates in the rare instance when all of these three conditions occur at the same time: The airplane Angle of Attack approaches a value higher than normal due to very slow speeds or aggressive maneuvering.

The pilot is flying manually. The airplane flaps are up. How did you enhance the flight control system on the newer models of the to address the findings in the two accidents? Have you made other changes to the MAX? These changes were described in detail in recent publications from regulators and include, for example: Enhancing the flight control computer software to provide for more cross-checking between flight control computers. Providing for modification of and greater separation in some wiring to satisfy regulator requirements.

What information will pilots receive about enhancements during their training? How have you responded to internal and external reviews and audits following the two accidents? Strengthened partnerships with airline customers and other industry stakeholders to ensure that flight deck designs and general training anticipate the needs of future pilot populations. How many newer airplanes were built? Several other regulators, outside those where airlines have already resumed flights, have also cleared the Max but local operators have not yet restored commercial flights with the type.

But China, which had 13 airlines operating 96 Max aircraft at the time of the grounding — more than any other country — is still to re-approve the type. WestJet intends to restore flights to several cities in eastern Canada in late June, a move meaning the company would again be flying to all the cities in Canada that it served before the pandemic.

The Boeing Max crisis has already upended some aspects of aircraft certification, with regulators more closely reviewing certification projects and shying away from rubber stamping decisions made by foreign counterparts.

The Max holds outsize importance for Boeing, both financially and competitively. We provide news, data, analytics and advisory services to connect the aviation community globally and help organisations shape their business strategies, identify new opportunities and make better decisions faster. Site powered by Webvision Cloud. Skip to main content Skip to navigation.