Southwest Airlines has confirmed it is open to order a third aircraft type. The airline is a loyal 737 and 717 customer but now is has opened the doors to Bombardier and its CSeries aircraft as well as Airbus A320 – although the latter is not thought to stand much of a chance.
Mike Ven de Ven, chief operating officer of Southwest, told an investor’s meeting in December that, "at some point a new airplane is going to come out, whether it's the CSeries, or whether Boeing replaces the 737. And at some point in time, Airbus is going to replace the A320.”
The original low fare airline is due to replace around 175 ageing Boeing 737 300s/500s in the next five years. The Bombardier CSeries has been heavily touted as the ideal aircraft to serve the airline’s needs, especially on fuel burn. The CSeries has a 16% lower fuel burn and 20% lower cash operating costs due to lower maintenance expense.
All eyes are now on Boeing to see how it will step up to the challenge.
