How significant the situation is in regards to Boeing 737 Max aircraft grounding is seen through the revenue results of airlines that are dependent on this aircraft in their fleet.
Southwest Airlines, major US airline and world’s largest low-cost airline, is expecting a profit loss in it’s first quarter of 2019.
It is the first carrier to provide a formal change to its financial forecasts since the recent crash of Boeing’s new jet. The airline expects to lose $150 million in the first quarter. Shares fell almost 3 percent on the news.
Southwest has 34 of the planes in its fleet of about 750 Boeing 737s, more than any other U.S. airline.
Likewise, other major carrier, a European low-cost airline Norwegian is also expecting a financial difficulty as they have 18 Max jets. Norwegian said its losses had widened to 1.49bn Norwegian kroner ($172.7m) in the first quarter – up from 46.2m Norwegian kroner last year.
While its Max planes remain grounded, it has been rebooking passengers on to other flights and renting alternative aircraft in an attempt to maintain as much of its schedule as possible.
Norwegian Chief executive Bjoern Kjos said: “There is a saying that you should hope for the best and plan for the worst, so we are planning to have [the Max aircraft] on the ground throughout August.”
Up to date, the aircraft remain grounded amid the authorities review of Boeing’s MCAS software update.
