Allegiant Air
has joined other United States-based carriers, including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, in welcoming more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft than expected during the final quarter of last year.
Four 737 MAX 8s
During the carrier’s Q4 2024 earnings call on February 4, Gregory Anderson, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Allegiant Air, disclosed that the company ended 2024 with four in-service 737 MAX 8-200
aircraft, which enabled the airline to address the operational inefficiencies caused by previous delivery delays.
In comparison, Allegiant Air’s Q3 2024 results disclosed that by the end of the year, it had expected to take delivery of a single 737 MAX 8-200, ending the year with its fleet size being flat year-on-year (YoY) at 122 aircraft with the retirement of a single, 177-seat Airbus A320ceo
.
Still, Allegiant Air had to wait a long time for its first 737 MAX 8-200, which arrived on September 9, 2024, and entered service on October 20, 2024. The aircraft, registered as N811NV, operated its first (non-commercial) flight on June 10, 2024, according to ch-aviation‘s data.
Photo: VDB Photos | Shutterstock
When Allegiant Air and 
Boeing
announced the initial order for 100 737 MAX 8-200, split between 50 firm orders and 50 options, in 2022, the airline said that the first batch of aircraft should arrive in 2023. The remaining aircraft were then scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. In 2023, the airline added another 30 options to its initial order.
However, delays persisted, and in November 2023, Maurice Gallagher, the former CEO of Allegiant Air, disclosed that the airline was preparing for the first delivery in early 2024. In March 2024, Anderson, who at the time was only the airline’s president, told Reuters that instead of 24 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft in 2024, Allegiant Air would receive only half of that number.
Related
Allegiant Air Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 Debut Delayed By 2 Months
However, the airline expects to expand its Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 schedule quite quickly.
Better-than-expected deliveries
Southwest Airlines
was another airline that received more 737 MAX aircraft than expected during the last quarter of the year, with the low-cost carrier welcoming 22 737 MAX 8s in Q4 2024, two more than it had estimated. In 2025, the carrier’s estimates predict 38 737 MAX 8
deliveries.
Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest Airlines, noted during the carrier’s Q4 2024 earnings call on January 30 that while the estimated 38 deliveries was a conservative number, “we believe Boeing is on pace to exceed 38 this year, and over the next couple of years, […] there will be an opportunity to do plenty of transactions as Boeing ramps up their production.”
Photo: VDB Photos | Shutterstock
Still, Jordan pointed out that the plane maker was contractually obliged to hand over 136 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft in 2025. The former has not been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which could happen sometime in 2025.
“There’s a lot going on at Boeing. I was just there last week visiting with the leadership team and walking the factory floor. They have clearly been hard at work and I was pleased with the progress that I saw.”
Related
Southwest Airlines Cuts Pilot Bases As Part Of Reorganization
Southwest Airlines confirmed that fewer pilots will be based in Atlanta and Denver.
Strike impact
American Airlines
was another carrier that welcomed more 737 MAXs than expected. The company’s Q3 2024 US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed that it estimated zero 737 MAX
deliveries during the last three months of the year, citing “a strike action affecting certain of its production facilities,” which forced Boeing to suspend production activities.
Boeing’s 33,000 machinists, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), went on strike at midnight on September 13, 2024. While they signed a new agreement on November 4, 2024, and slowly returned to work between November 6, 2024, and November 12, 2024. The manufacturer turned on its production lines in December 2024.
According to the manufacturer’s orders and deliveries filings, Boeing delivered three 737 MAXs to American Airlines in Q4 2024.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying
The only airline that received the exact number of its predicted 737 MAX aircraft was 
United Airlines
, which, at the end of Q3 2024, estimated two 737 MAX 8 and three 737 MAX 9 deliveries from Boeing. The plane maker did not disappoint as its filings showed five 737 MAX deliveries to the airline.
Still, Mike Leskinen, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines, stated during the company’s Q4 2024 earnings call on January 22 that Boeing has started to make some real progress in improving its business. As such, the airline has become more bullish on the 737 MAX 10.
Delta Air Lines
only has the yet-to-be-certified 737 MAX 10
on order from the US-based planemaker. While the carrier’s website says that Boeing should begin deliveries of the type in 2025, Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, warned in an interview with Bloomberg in March 2024 that the deliveries could be pushed back as far as 2027.
Related
Delta Air Lines Expects Strong Travel Demand To Continue Following Record Year
Despite the fallout from the CrowdStrike IT failure in July 2024, Delta Air Lines recorded record-breaking results during the year.
