By Graham Dunn2021-04-14T16:24:00+01:00
After a traumatic two years for Boeing and its 737 Max programme, some of the airframer’s top customers have signed up for hundreds more of the jets, delivering key endorsements as the type returns to service.
Notably, Southwest Airlines’ decision, disclosed on 29 March, to replace 737-700s with 737 Max 7s came after follow-on Max orders from key customers Ryanair and United Airlines.
Source: Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock.com
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max, in February 2021
But a further batch of Max order cancellations in March – from the likes of Turkish Airlines and aircraft lessors CDB Aviation and China Aircraft Leasing – again highlight the pandemic’s continued impact on the aerospace industry.
Three Southwest executives and other airline insiders sell shares amid February stock rally
The executives’ insider sales made up 19% of the February total for airlines.
A Southwest Airlines flight takes off at Dallas Love Field on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Airline executives and directors sold $49.9 million of stock in February, the most in three years, as industry shares posted a record rally fueled by a widening vaccination effort.
The top individual sellers were at Southwest Airlines Co. and Allegiant Travel Co., two leisure-focused carriers that are among analyst picks to benefit from a rebound in vacation travel as the coronavirus pandemic eases.
(March 6): Airline executives and directors sold US$49.9 million of stock in February, the most in three years, as industry shares posted a record rally fueled by a widening vaccination effort.
The top individual sellers were at Allegiant Travel Co. and Southwest Airlines Co., two leisure-focused carriers that are among analyst picks to benefit from a rebound in vacation travel as the coronavirus pandemic eases. Executives from Delta Air Lines Inc. and Mesa Air Group Inc. also sold significant holdings, according to data from InsiderInsights.com, which analyzes such transactions.
The insider sales increased as investors bet that vaccine campaigns would gain steam and improve the prospects for a travel rebound. Airlines got hammered last year by an unprecedented drop in demand for flights. Continued stock gains are far from guaranteed this year, as the industry’s recovery remains shrouded in uncertainty and the slump in lucrative corporate and international trips is expected to dr
The airline industry still has “a long way to go” to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said, adding that the current environment has “start-up-like aspects” that can make it feel like Southwest is building a new airline.
But Kelly, speaking to analysts and reporters recently to discuss the company’s $3.1 billion 2020 net loss the Dallas-based LCC’s first annual deficit since 1972 said he is trying “to not think that we re starting over as a company … We ve got a lot of institutional capabilities.”
He conceded that two big questions are hanging over the carrier: “Are you going to have 85% load factors again? Are we going to have a dense scheduling opportunity again?”
Southwest Airlines is resuming revenue service with the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on March 11 after completing more than 200 validation flights, COO Mike Van de Ven said during a recent discussion with analysts and investors.
Van de Ven said MAX operations would be “small and focused” during the first month of the service, with 10 lines of operations that would not be co-mingled with the airline’s 737NGs.
“After that we’ll have roughly 65 ready for service, and we expect to be in normal operation mode by April,” he said.
Southwest expects to end 2021 with 69 MAX jets, Van de Ven added. The company stated it would receive 35 deliveries from Boeing through the end of 2021, 16 of which are leased. Seven of the leased aircraft were delivered to Southwest in December 2020, which leaves 28 deliveries remaining for delivery this year.