Southwest Airlines had some bad news for customers in its second-quarter earnings report — thanks to ongoing issues with Boeing's 737 Max aircraft.
In a press release Thursday, Southwest said the grounding of the 737 Max cost it $175 million in operating income. The airline's passenger numbers went down, and its costs went up.
As a result, Southwest will no longer operate out of Newark Liberty International Airport starting this fall. And the carrier expects its capacity to grow only 1-2% — significantly less than its previous plans to expand 5% in 2019.
Aviation authorities around the world grounded 737 Max jets back in March following two fatal crashes that killed hundreds of people.
Earlier this month, Boeing said it will take a $4.6 billion after-tax charge to compensate customers for disruptions from canceled flights and delivery of the aircraft. And the company expects a $1.7 billion loss in the second quarter due to the increased time it takes to produce the 737 Max plane now.
