Southwest Airlines will be adjusting its operational capacity and financial projections for 2024. 

According to CNBC, the airlines needed to adjust due to the delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing, its primary supplier. 

The airline revealed that Boeing informed its management of a reduced delivery schedule, expecting to receive 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this year, down from the originally anticipated 79, which included some of the smaller Max 7 models pending Federal Aviation Administration certification.

Southwest, feeling the effects of Boeing's ongoing problems with maintaining quality standards and delivering aircraft on time, plans to thoroughly examine its financial projections and spending plans for the entire year of 2024, including how much money it plans to invest in capital projects. 

Financially, the delay also affected its premarket trading, with shares dropping by more than 7%. They also noted lower-than-anticipated leisure bookings in the first quarter. 

As a result, it has revised its forecasted unit revenue growth to either remain flat or increase by no more than 2%, down from the previous estimate of up to 4.5% growth.

Because of that, Southwest Airlines will stop hiring pilots, flight attendants, and other staff members for the current year. 

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United Airlines has also announced a temporary halt in pilot hiring because of these delays. Both airline companies anticipate ending 2024 with fewer employees compared to the previous year.

However, Boeing's delays were not just felt by the two airlines. The reference to the quality control crisis at Boeing, exemplified by the incident involving a fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines flight, has caused worry throughout the aviation sector. 

Alaska Airlines, in a related development, is uncertain about its capacity plans for the year 2024 because of the possibility of delays in receiving aircraft deliveries. 

Boeing, the subject of these delivery delays and quality concerns, has yet to issue a formal response to the situation. However, a recent VCPost report touched on Boeing's ongoing issue regarding standards, as revealed by a whistleblower who is now dead.

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