Southwest Airlines has taken delivery of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 despite the manufacturer’s machinists, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District Lodge 751 and District W24, being on strike since September.
Flightradar24 data showed that the 737 MAX 8, registered as N8930S, was handed over to Southwest Airlines on October 28, when the airline shipped the aircraft from King County International Airport (BFI), also known as Boeing Field, to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
The aircraft was ferried using the flight code WN8545, which the airline has used on several occasions to move its assets throughout the past few months.
For example, it ferried a Boeing 737-800 from San Salvador International Airport (SAN) to Houston William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), presumably after maintenance. The aircraft, registered as N8325D, had spent more than a month in Salvador after it was ferried there from Houston-Hobby on August 29.
Nevertheless, ch-aviation data showed that since the strike that has continued since September 13, Southwest Airlines took delivery of another 737 MAX 8, registered as N8933Q, on September 27.
Both N8930S and N8933Q had their first flights before their strike, on September 1 and August 30, respectively.
The strike will continue for the time being after the machinists rejected the latest tentative agreement (TA), forcing Boeing and IAM to go back to the negotiating table.
After its delivery on September 27, N8933Q entered commercial service on October 2, operating flight WN2170 from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Since that day, the 737 MAX 8 has operated more than 140 flights, Flightradar24 data showed, with another five and three flights that were scheduled on October 29 and October 30, respectively.
Meanwhile, the subject 737 MAX 8, registered as N8930S, was owned by Southwest Airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) records confirmed, with the administrator’s registry showing that it issued a certificate for the aircraft on October 25. The regulator indicated that the airworthiness date of the aircraft was filed as October 21.
However, the two 737 MAX 8 airframes were not the only aircraft of the type that Boeing has delivered since the strike began.
Analysis of ch-aviation records showed that since September 13, the aircraft manufacturer had delivered at least eight 737 MAX 8s, excluding the aforementioned airframe, N8930S.
Out of the eight, none of the 737 MAX 8s had departed on their first flight later than August 30, when the aforementioned N8933Q took to the skies for its first-ever departure.
Interestingly, Boeing delivered five 737 MAX 8 to Chinese-based airlines, including Shanghai Airlines (one), Shenzhen Airlines (two), and Xiamen Airlines (two) between September 13 and October 28.
Out of the quintet, none had their first flight later than 2022, with one, a Xiamen Airlines 737 MAX 8, registered as B-20DU, flying for the first time as far back as November 13, 2019.
During Boeing’s Q3 earnings call, Brian West, the chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president of finance of Boeing, said that as of September 30, the manufacturer had about 60 737 MAX 8 aircraft that were built before 2023, the majority being for airlines in China and India.
Boeing reduced the number of inventoried 737 MAX 8s by 30 compared to the last quarter, West added, saying that 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 inventory has remained stable, at around 35 aircraft by the end of Q3.
