Southwest Never Even Considered An Airbus Bid Before Order 100 New 737 MAXs

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Southwest never even had Airbus bid for its huge recent aircraft order even though if there was ever a time they might have switched to the A220 it was now. Ultimately there was no world in which Airbus was going to match Boeing’s pricing.

    Southwest’s press release infers a $30m per-plane price for the MAX 7, excluding previously paid deposits and progress payments on the MAX 8. Seventy MAX 8 orders were swapped to the MAX 7.

    However, Boeing previously paid Southwest nearly $500m in cash compensation because of the grounding. This likely offsets deposits and progress payments.

    Southwest will receive 30 MAXes next year. The financial figures suggest Southwest will pay only $23m per plane upon delivery, allowing for deposits and progress payments.

  • Woke United Airlines issues a statement that voting is good, restricting voting access is bad, but refuses to name names or identify what restrictions they find problematic.

  • The featured food item in the Tokyo Haneda ANA first class lounge is… Krispy Kreme donuts, but you’ll have to wait until the pandemic is over to try them because “the service of doughnuts, soup, and miso soup is currently suspended.” (HT: Steve E.)

    Savor the sumptuous flavor of light, melt-in-the-mouth Krispy Kreme Original Glazed® Doughnuts, which are delivered fresh from the oven directly to the lounge every day…While stocks last (limited number available).

  • Problems with Boeing 737 MAX automatic fuel shutoff system

  • Former British Airways Boss Alex Cruz in Talks to Take Helm at Scandinavian Airline SAS

  • The Washington Post‘s David Fahrenthold buries the lede. Most of the money was spent with Hilton, and some with Marriott and Hyatt, but these group billings likely meant secret service agents didn’t earn any points for their stays.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Good for Southwest, they had Boeing over a barrel and capitalized on the opportunity.

  2. I know they probably got a fabulous deal. I still question LUV’s wisdom in doing it.

  3. Switching to Airbus would have cost a bundle above & beyond the actual plane cost since Southwest would need to spend quite a bit of time and money on pilot training & certification, mechanic training and an inventory of Airbus specific parts.
    Just a ploy to get Boeing to reduce the price of the Mex and nothing more.

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