Southwest Airlines announced Thursday that it would be pulling out of some airports and cutting costs, blaming some of the company’s financial woes on delays in getting Boeing aircraft.
CEO Bob Jordan announced on the company’s latest earnings call that Southwest is closing operations at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the Bellingham International Airport in Washington, the Cozumel International Airport in Mexico and the Syracuse Hancock International Airport in New York.
According to Jordan, “The recent news from Boeing regarding further aircraft delivery delays presents significant challenges for both 2024 and 2025.”
Southwest said it now expects to receive only 20 new Boeing planes this year. That number represents less than half the number it had been expecting as recently as March, The Wall Street Journal reported.
That delay will hamper Southwest’s growth this year, Jordan explained Thursday.
“We aren’t accepting that as our fate and are taking swift action …