10 hours Ago By Rytis Beresnevičius
In a follow-up Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing to its Q1 results report, Southwest Airlines has detailed that it now has 672 firm orders and options for Boeing 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft scheduled for delivery up to 2031. During the quarter, the carrier added another seven options for 737 MAX 7 aircraft that should be delivered in 2026, increasing its total firm orders for the smallest 737 MAX family aircraft to 305 units. 136 Contractual Deliveries In an SEC filing published on April 25, Southwest Airlines detailed that in 2025, the airline would include the remaining 63 of its 2024 contractual but undelivered aircraft, split between 27 737 MAX 7 and 36 737 MAX 8s, in its 2025 contractual deliveries.
As a result, in 2025, Southwest Airlines expects Boeing to deliver 136 aircraft during the year, including 70 737 MAX 7 and 66 737 MAX 8. The number includes 11 737 MAX 8 aircraft that Southwest Airlines had already welcomed during the first three months of 2025, with ch-aviation data showing that out of the 11, only three, namely N8935Q, N8936Q, and N8937Q, had their first flights in early December 2024, just days after Boeing resumed 737 MAX production following the 52-day strike by its machinists. As a result, its capital commitments for the 136 aircraft in 2025 are estimated to be $3.
2 billion during the year, with the sum including $1.9 billion related to the existing scheduled 737 MAX aircraft delivered in 2025 and $1.3 billion related to the 63 737 MAXs that should have been delivered in 2024.
“Boeing continues to experience delays in fulfilling its commitments with regards to delivery of MAX aircraft to the Company, as a result of manufacturing challenges, delays in achieving FAA certification of one of its new aircraft types, the -7, for which Southwest expects to be the launch customer, and a work stoppage that took place during September through November 2024.” Backlog Ballooning To 672 Aircraft Southwest Airlines also noted that after March 31, which was the end date of Q1, it exercised another seven options for the 737 MAX 7, which are scheduled for delivery in 2026. As a result, its total Boeing aircraft backlog, which includes the 136 aircraft and the 11 737 MAX 8s Boeing handed over in Q1, grew to 672 aircraft.
At the same time, the airline retired 12 737-700 and two 737-800s during the first three months of the year. Boeing’s orders and deliveries filings showed that the two 737 MAX models, the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8, have secured 357 and 5,601 gross orders as of March 31, with unfilled orders numbering 329 737 MAX 7 and 2,732 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The plane maker had delivered 1,342 aircraft as of that date.
The numbers mean that Southwest Airlines’ firm order book for the 737 MAX 7 is 90.5% of the type’s total backlog, excluding the seven 737 MAX 7 options that it exercised). Other 737 MAX 7 customers include Luxair, China-based Ruili Airlines, SkyUp Airlines, and other carriers.
Luxair, the flag carrier of Luxembourg, ordered four 737 MAX 7s during the Paris Air Show in June 2023 , becoming the launch customer of the type in Europe. During Boeing’s Q4 2024 earnings call, the company spoke about its key commercial aircraft programs. Unchanged certification timelines However, Boeing’s executives did not have much to add about the progress of the certification of the 737 MAX 7, as well as its larger brother, the 737 MAX 10.
Brian West, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Boeing, said during the company’s Q1 earnings call on April 23 that it had around 35 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 aircraft in inventory, and the certification timelines remain unchanged. The last concrete update Boeing’s executives gave about the progress of getting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve the two aircraft types was during the aircraft manufacturer’s Q2 2024 earnings call on July 31. Then, David Calhoun, the now former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boeing, said that the company found an engineering solution for the engine anti-ice (EAI) system that it will implement for in-production aircraft in 2025, paving the way for 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 certification and delivery.
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