Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[shoreward]

Another factor involved with flight cancellation is where that aircraft and crew need to be physically located for first flight out, the next morning, as well as for all of the flights scheduled on that new day.

This is a very complicated problem, as there is no known end in sight. Although Boeing has stated that there is a software fix, the FAA must approve it, and pilots must be trained. That does not take into consideration any other actions required, but unannounced.

It is understandable why it may be difficult for Southwest to announce changes more than a week in advance; I think they just don't know how long this process will take. I am sure that they are anxious to get the MAX aircraft back in the air, once all parties involved are sure that the aircraft is safe to fly. This is costing Southwest big time $$$$, not to mention future business from disgruntled customers.

I honestly believe that Southwest is doing the best they can, under the circumstances.

BTW, I have upcoming travel booked on Southwest, so I do have a personal interest in this matter.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Another factor involved with flight cancellation is where that aircraft and crew need to be physically located for first flight out, the next morning, as well as for all of the flights scheduled on that new day.

This is a very complicated problem, as there is no known end in sight. Although Boeing has stated that there is a software fix, the FAA must approve it, and pilots must be trained. That does not take into consideration any other actions required, but unannounced.

It is understandable why it may be difficult for Southwest to announce changes more than a week in advance; I think they just don't know how long this process will take. I am sure that they are anxious to get the MAX aircraft back in the air, once all parties involved are sure that the aircraft is safe to fly. This is costing Southwest big time $$$$, not to mention future business from disgruntled customers.

I honestly believe that Southwest is doing the best they can, under the circumstances.

BTW, I have upcoming travel booked on Southwest, so I do have a personal interest in this matter.

I too think SWA and other airlines are doing what they can.

My husband is about to be flying every 2 weeks (come home and going back to where he is at for his field assignement) through at least the end of October. We for sure have a personal interest it in. When he comes home it's for 2 1/2 days so any time lost is a big deal since it will be nearly 2 weeks after that that I'll see him again.

I feel like they are trying but it's super frustrating for all involved because they just don't know if they will be impacted.

 

[PerfessorZ]

When did they get notified? And from what airport? Checking our flights daily.

Last Wednesday. They are flying out of Orlando.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

(CNN)Boeing's 737 MAX jets will remain grounded for weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday afternoon that the plane maker continues to work on a software fix.

Boeing had said it would submit the fix to the FAA last week, and it had gathered hundreds of industry representatives at its Seattle-area facilities last Wednesday to demonstrate the software changes.

But the FAA said Monday that the company concluded "additional work" is needed.

"The FAA expects to receive Boeing's final package of its software enhancement over the coming weeks for FAA approval," the agency said in a statement. "Time is needed for additional work by Boeing as the result of an ongoing review of the 737 MAX Flight Control System to ensure that Boeing has identified and appropriately addressed all pertinent issues."

Boeing acknowledged the new timeline, saying in a statement that the software change would be "completed in the coming weeks." It did not say why the timeline had changed.

"Safety is our first priority, and we will take a thorough and methodical approach to the development and testing of the update to ensure we take the time to get it right," the company said.

American Airlines said Monday afternoon that it was aware the MAX "may be further delayed" in returning to service. It has been forced to cancel dozens of flights daily while the planes await a fix.

American operates 24 MAX 8 airplanes and Southwest operates 34. United Airlines operates 14 of the larger 737 MAX 9 jets.

Capt. Dennis Tajer of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, said the group was encouraged by Boeing's recent "sense of energy" to produce a fix but also realized the timeline was ambitious.

"We were disregarding that because having the pilots fully engaged, as they are, and all the information, and knowing what the training will be all put this out as more of a distant timeline for getting the aircraft flying," Tajer told CNN.

The FAA followed other countries' aviation authorities in grounding the MAX on March 13 following the second crash in less than five months. The agency said it had reviewed satellite data and physical evidence that showed similarities between the Lion Air flight that crashed in October and the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed days earlier in March.
A preliminary report on the Ethiopian accident is expected in the coming days.

Software designers, Boeing engineers and test pilots had worked out a set of changes to a stabilization system known as MCAS that has been under scrutiny from investigators piecing together the Lion Air crash, according to a company official. The fix brings in multiple layers of protection and is accompanied by a training regimen.

Tajer, of the Allied Pilots Association, said the software changes Boeing demonstrated last week "directly addressed the concerns that we voiced to Boeing" following the October crash.

The FAA statement said the software changes would require a "rigorous safety review."

"The FAA will not approve the software for installation until the FAA is satisfied with the submission," the agency said.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/01/politics/boeing-737-max/index.html

 

[DLgal]

I read an article yesterday where a Southwest spokesman said they had reworked their flight schedule through the end of May without the Max 8 plane. I would expect that if this is true, we won't see many more last minute cancellations.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I read an article yesterday where a Southwest spokesman said they had reworked their flight schedule through the end of May without the Max 8 plane. I would expect that if this is true, we won't see many more last minute cancellations.

I’m hoping that’s true! That being said, the rep I spoke with today said they are working about 2 weeks ahead on their rescheduling. Not sure how accurate that information is. Hoping yours is the better response!!

 

[chicagoshannon]

We will still see last minute cancellations. We called yesterday to try to swap our flight since our flight number is sold out every day until the end of May. They wouldn't do it. SO they are NOT automatically switching people to other flights and will still be doing it last minute. The excuse they gave for not switching us was "they might put it back into rotation".

SO we're still in a wait and see for our flight. Meanwhile we're watching prices and will switch it ourselves if another flight comes down in price. However the next best flight for us has only 2 seats left so we'll probably be out of luck and have to fly home either a lot earlier than we wanted OR a LOT later than we want. We'll make it work but it's frustrating they won't switch our flight when it's currently cancelled.

 

[bearybubba]

I got an email last Wednesday morning letting us know that our flight # and times were changed for our trip home from MCO on 4/8. We were supposed to land at 9:35am but got bumped to landing at 5:15pm the same day. We had to scramble to add an extra day on at the kennel for our dog.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We will still see last minute cancellations. We called yesterday to try to swap our flight since our flight number is sold out every day until the end of May. They wouldn't do it. SO they are NOT automatically switching people to other flights and will still be doing it last minute. The excuse they gave for not switching us was "they might put it back into rotation".

SO we're still in a wait and see for our flight. Meanwhile we're watching prices and will switch it ourselves if another flight comes down in price. However the next best flight for us has only 2 seats left so we'll probably be out of luck and have to fly home either a lot earlier than we wanted OR a LOT later than we want. We'll make it work but it's frustrating they won't switch our flight when it's currently cancelled.

Our April 27th flight is also showing as 'Sold Out'. I may be naive but I'm choosing to look at it as a flight SW wants to fly for sure so they have blocked any additional seats that may still be open to accommodate people on other flights that get cancelled.

Not sure it's going to happen this way but it's helping my stress level.

 

[DLgal]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston...est-airlines-pulling-boeing-737-max-from.html

Here is an article similar to the one I read on Sunday.

 

[Iowamomof4]

This quote from the article is interesting:
"We're publishing a revised schedule for April and May that is built around the currently available Southwest fleet and intend to drastically reduce last-minute trip disruptions and same-day cancellations, which have affected our customers and employees since the grounding of the Max," a Southwest spokesman told the Chicago Business Journal April 1.

So, WHEN will they publish this revised schedule? And is that something they will make public or is it more of an internal schedule? I guess I'm just curious what they really mean and how it will look for those of us with booked flights.

 

[mrsstats]

Our flight to Las Vegas was cancelled 5 days prior to take off. We were not scheduled to fly on the Max. Also, flights I have for September to Texas were changed (just the flight #'s) so I assume they were on the Max.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It would be good to know @Iowamomof4 WHEN the new revised schedule is published.

To see if it helps us at all, I've taken screen shots of what my flight schedule currently looks like it. It's a pretty busy day (14 options to go from Buffalo - Orlando on Apr 27th and, 13 to return from Orlando to Buffalo on May 2nd.) I'm hoping with such a busy schedule that if they revise it greatly it would become evident. Not sure, but hoping this is the case.

Also, noticed that my BUF - MCO flight that was displaying as 'Sold Out' yesterday

Is showing to have some availability today:


LOL - Guess that means I shouldn't put much weight to the SW person I spoke with yesterday who said the flight was full.

 

[Iowamomof4]

It would be good to know @Iowamomof4 WHEN the new revised schedule is published.

To see if it helps us at all, I've taken screen shots of what my flight schedule currently looks like it. It's a pretty busy day (14 options to go from Buffalo - Orlando on Apr 27th and, 13 to return from Orlando to Buffalo on May 2nd.) I'm hoping with such a busy schedule that if they revise it greatly it would become evident. Not sure, but hoping this is the case.

Also, noticed that my BUF - MCO flight that was displaying as 'Sold Out' yesterday View attachment 392244

Is showing to have some availability today:
View attachment 392245

LOL - Guess that means I shouldn't put much weight to the SW person I spoke with yesterday who said the flight was full.

Well, it looks like only a very few seats left (1 or 2, maybe?), so maybe a couple people cancelled.

 

[Firepath]

Well, yes, obviously that has happened. However, I am inclined to believe that the original Max 8 routes will stay intact, at the very least. The fact that they had Max 8 aircraft assigned to those routes means they are long distance, higher passenger capacity flights that could use the 737-800 instead. I imagine 700s were swapped in for some shorter legs, thus creating a domino effect with other 700s.

My flight is on April 30 and return is May 5. Both long distance cross country flights originally assigned Max 8 with short connector flights on 700s. I am more worried about my short connector flights being cancelled and missing the connections onto the longer haul flights. As of now, all my flights still have seats for sale, so I hope I'm good.

All 3 flights I know of that were cancelled were originally through Las Vegas and were the longer cross country flight.

 

[DLgal]

All 3 flights I know of that were cancelled were originally through Las Vegas and were the longer cross country flight.

Yep, it appears Vegas is a target for cancelled flights (flights originating or ending there). When I look at the flight schedule for my route (SNA-MCO) out a few weeks, all the ones that connect in Vegas are showing "sold out" across the board.

It also seems that flights with 2 stops/connections are also getting cancelled.

Thankfully I am not on one of those.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Yep, it appears Vegas is a target for cancelled flights (flights originating or ending there). When I look at the flight schedule for my route (SNA-MCO) out a few weeks, all the ones that connect in Vegas are showing "sold out" across the board.

It also seems that flights with 2 stops/connections are also getting cancelled.

Thankfully I am not on one of those.

Now, now... don't tell me that. But in some ways, that doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean, we have 2 stops but also 2 planes. So, although OUR flight is DSM > STL > MKE > MCO, it's really two routes: DSM>STL and STL>MKE>MCO. So if they cancel that flight, the folks at MKE (Milwaukee), won't be able to have their nonstop flight to MCO.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

FWIW, I had family who had a flight canceled right when the mess was starting (mid March). They were notified Friday that their first of the day nonstop flight on Monday out of MDW was cancelled. They were rebooked the day before. They had no issue with their last of the day nonstop return flight. They were not scheduled on a max plane for any of these flights.

 

[DLgal]

Now, now... don't tell me that. But in some ways, that doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean, we have 2 stops but also 2 planes. So, although OUR flight is DSM > STL > MKE > MCO, it's really two routes: DSM>STL and STL>MKE>MCO. So if they cancel that flight, the folks at MKE (Milwaukee), won't be able to have their nonstop flight to MCO.

It does make sense if they need to use the 737-700 plane elsewhere. If they have to cancel one leg of your flight, they will cancel your whole itinerary. They could cancel the DSM-STL without cancelling the STL-MKE-MCO.

Then you would need to be accommodated on another route.

 

[DLgal]

I almost pulled the trigger on a Delta flight to replace my SW flights, but I decided that I don't want to spend the money if I dont have to, although I am standing by to pay an exorbitant amount of $$$ if my SW flight(s) get cancelled. I cannot spare an extra day on either side of my trip because my husband is taking off from work to stay with the kids and he absolutely has to be back at work the day after I am scheduled to come back. Thankfully I have a few major airports to choose from should my flight get cancelled and I need to make other arrangements.