Economics
The World’s Richest Airlines Can’t Get Enough Hand-Me-Down Jets
- Southwest scours the globe for bargains on used Boeing 737s
- Cheaper fuel means aging planes are less of a drag on profits
Transaero 737-700.
Source: Woodys AeroimagesThis article is for subscribers only.
It’s a tale that could be dubbed “From Russia to Love.”
Two Boeing Co. 737 jetliners swooped onto a factory airfield near Seattle in March, the last of the models once flown by a collapsed Russian carrier. They were headed for makeovers to erase the Cyrillic logos and any other trace of Transaero Airlines. Next stop: Dallas’s Love Field, where hometown carrier Southwest Airlines Co. is on a record shopping spree.