Here's Where Airlines Are Storing The Boeing 737 MAX
With the timeline for re-entry into service unclear and the aircraft grounded worldwide, many airlines have made the decision to store their Boeing 737 MAXes at secondary airports and desert-storage facilities rather than allow them to take up space at major airports. Though reports indicated that the Boeing 737 MAX could re-enter service as soon as this June, airlines do not seem to be as confident in that timeline. Last week, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines announced that the plane would be removed from schedules through the busy summer travel season.
More than two months since the aircraft was grounded, here's where airlines are storing the Boeing 737 MAX.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is the biggest operator of the MAX worldwide; it relocated its whole fleet to a particular airport. As of April 19th, all 34 of Southwest Airlines' Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are parked in storage at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, CA.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Southern California Logistics/Victorville Airport (VCV) | 34 |
American Airlines
11 of the airline's 24 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are located at the airline's maintenance facility in Tulsa. Storing the 737 MAX 8 at the airline's primary maintenance base provides American Airlines with inexpensive storage and easy access to maintenance personnel.
Additionally, eight are in storage at Roswell in New Mexico, also noted like Victorville for the dry desert climate that's easy on metal. The rest are scattered at minor airports in the US.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Tulsa International Airport (TUL) | 11 |
Roswell Airport (ROW) | 8 |
Orlando/Melbourne Airport (MLB) | 3 |
Phoenix-Sky Harbor Airport (PHX) | 1 |
Boston-Logan Airport (BOS) | 1 |
Mobile Airport (BFM) | 1 |
Air Canada
Air Canada's fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is currently stored throughout Canada. The airline's MAX aircraft can be found both at the airline's major hubs like Montreal Airport (YUL) as well as smaller airports like Trois-Rivières Airport (YRQ). The airline operates the third-largest fleet of Boeing 737 MAXs worldwide.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Windsor International Airport (YQG) | 8 |
Trois-Rivières Airport (YRQ) | 5 |
Winnipeg International Airport (YWG) | 4 |
Calgary International Airport (YYC) | 2 |
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) | 2 |
Halifax Airport (YHZ) | 2 |
Montreal International Airport (YUL) | 1 |
WestJet
WestJet has also stored its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft throughout Canada at various airports. Unlike Air Canada, WestJet's aircraft are stored at larger airports each with regularly scheduled passenger service. The airport with the most WestJet 737 MAX aircraft is Kelowna Airport (YLW) located 257 miles east of Vancouver in British Columbia.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Kelowna Airport (YLW) | 5 |
Calgary International Airport (YYC) | 3 |
Toronto International Airport (YYZ) | 2 |
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) | 1 |
Edmonton International Airport (YEG) | 1 |
Hamilton International Airport (YHM) | 1 |
Sunwing
Sunwing is a Canadian lesuire airline with a fleet of just four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. All are stored at Windsor in Ontario.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Windsor International Airport (YQG) | 4 (all) |
Icelandair
Operating a small fleet of 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Icelandair keeps all of them at its base, Keflavik Airport outside the capital Reykjavik.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Keflavik Airport (KEF) | 3 (all) |
United
The sole US operator of the larger MAX 9 model, United Airlines is storing its fleet at various airports across the US including at United's hubs like San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Houston-Hobby (HOU) | 8 |
Houston Intercontinental (IAH) | 2 |
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) | 2 |
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) | 1 |
Copa
With a small fleet of just 6 MAX 9 aircraft, Panama-based Copa is storing all of its aircraft at its home base.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Panama City/Tocumen Airport (PTY) | 6 |
GOL
Brazilian carrier GOL operates a fleet of just 6 Boeing 737 MAX 8, all grounded at the Tancredo Neves Airport (CNF) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Tancredo Neves Airport (CNF) | 6 |
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines keeps all the grounded MAXes at the three airports serving Istanbul.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Istanbul Ataturk Airport (ISL) | 9 |
Istanbul International Airport (IST) | 2 |
Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW) | 1 |
Flydubai
Flydubai operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. All are stored in Dubai at one of the emirate's two airports.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Dubai International Airport (DXB) | 10 |
Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) | 3 |
TUI Group
One of the largest leisure carriers in Europe, TUI Group operates a fleet of 15 737 MAX 8s and is storing it throughout Europe. The majority are currently stored at Manchester Airport in the UK (MAN) and Brussels Airport in Belgium (BRU). The remaining 6 aircraft are stored at various airports throughout Europe.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Manchester Airport (MAN) | 5 |
Brussels Airport (BRU) | 4 |
Tenerife Airport (TFS) | 1 |
Amsterdam-Schipol International Airport (AMS) | 2 |
Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport (ARN) | 2 |
Sofia International Airport (SOF) | 1 |
Norwegian Air
Norwegian Air is the largest European operator of the Boeing 737 MAX. With operating bases throughout Europe, the airline's 737 MAXs are being stored throughout the continent at airports in the UK, Norway, Spain, and other European countries — plus one in Israel.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) | 3 |
Oslo Airport (OSL) | 3 |
Helsinki Airport (HEL) | 2 |
Dublin Airport (DUB) | 2 |
Copenhagen Airport (CPH) | 2 |
Tenerife Airport (TFS) | 1 |
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN) | 1 |
Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) | 1 |
Edinburgh Airport (EDI) | 1 |
Paphos Airport (PFO) | 1 |
Air China
The second-largest Chinese operator of the Boeing 737 MAX, the airline has 16 of the aircraft in its fleet. Air China is storing the aircraft at three airports throughout China.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Beijing International Airport (PEK) | 10 |
Chongqing Jiangbei Airport (CKG) | 5 |
Tianjin Binhai Airport (TSN) | 1 |
China Eastern
According to the latest data from Flightradar24, the airline operates just three Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The airline likely operated a fourth aircraft with the registration B-205L, however, that aircraft appears to have joined the China Southern Airlines fleet. China Eastern is storing all of its 737 MAX aircraft at Kunming Changshui Airport (KMG).
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Kunming Changshui Airport (KMG) | 3 |
China Southern
China Southern Airlines is the largest Chinese operator of the Boeing 737 MAX with 25 in the fleet. The airline's fleet of 737 MAX aircraft is stored at three airports throughout China. Additionally, the airline has six flight-ready 737 MAX 8s in storage in the United States at Seattle-Boeing Field (BFI).
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) | 12 |
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) | 12 |
Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) | 1 |
Aeromexico
With just six Boeing 737 MAX 8, Aeromexico has managed to store all of its 737 MAXs at the airline's largest hub, Mexico City International Airport (MEX).
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Mexico City International Airport (MEX) | 6 (all) |
Xiamen Air
Xiamen Air has 10 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the fleet. The Chinese airline is storing its entire fleet at two airports in China.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) | 6 |
Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) | 4 |
Hainan Airlines
Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines operates a fleet of 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The airline is storing its fleet at three airports across China.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) | 5 |
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) | 3 |
Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) | 3 |
SpiceJet
The only airline in India operating the Boeing 737 MAX, SpiceJet has a fleet of 13 MAX 8s. The airline is storing the aircraft at airports throughout India.
Airport | Number of Aircraft Stored |
---|---|
Delhi/Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) | 5 |
Ahmedabad Airport (AMD) | 2 |
Chennai International Airport (MAA) | 2 |
Bengaluru Airport (BLR) | 1 |
Mumbai International Airport (BOM) | 1 |
Kolkata International Airport (CCU) | 1 |
Hyderabad Airport (HYD) | 1 |
Storing The 737 MAX: A Potentially Pricey Task
We reached out to various airlines for information regarding the storage of their MAX aircraft, but none was willing to say how much storing the planes costs. Eric Ray, the director of Southern California Logistics Airport at Victorville, told us that the airport's base fee for monthly storage of a Boeing 737 is $450 per month. However, Ray noted that this is merely a baseline; airlines have to work out a price for storage and maintenance.
When asked about additional fees airlines incur when an aircraft is stored at the airport, Ray told TPG that fees varied from tenant to tenant. Many airlines that store aircraft are required to follow an FAA-mandated "active storage program." FAA guidelines state that "Storage programs are intended to preserve the aircraft in a known state through methods, techniques, and procedures designed to mitigate or eliminate the adverse effects of the storage environment and non-operation of the aircraft." Maintenance storage programs could include regular maintenance as well as extensive aircraft overhaul procedures.
Nevertheless, for airlines that are unable to accommodate the Boeing 737 MAX at one of their own maintenance facilities, the cost to store an entire fleet of modern narrowbody aircraft is sure to add up.
With reporting by Howard Slutsken
This story has been edited to add a missing WestJet 737.