Southwest Airlines is delaying pilot hiring and captain upgrades with no end in sight to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.
said it delayed hiring for two classes of new pilots, which have about 25 apiece, and postponed captain upgrades for two other classes of current pilots because it isn't clear when the Max planes will fly again. Dallas-based Southwest is the biggest U.S. operator of the Boeing 737 Max with 34 in its fleet of around 750 aircraft.
Airlines have already delayed thousands of flights and have removed the planes from their schedules through the fall with no sense from regulators when the planes will be allowed to fly again. Aviation officials worldwide grounded the planes in mid-March after two fatal crashes claimed a total of 346 lives.
"All of these classes were scheduled to take place in either September, October, or December of this year to support our previously anticipated delivery of 37 MAX 8 and 7 MAX 7 aircraft in 2019," said Southwest in a statement. "Once we have more clarity on the return-to-service date of the MAX, and future MAX delivery timelines, we will look towards reinstating classes, as needed, to support the expected growth of our fleet.
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