737 Max 8 Planes: Southwest Waiving Fare Differences

UPDATE: President Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. will be grounding the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 9 planes until furhter notice.

DALLAS, TX — While the FAA is standing by its decision not to ground the Boeing 737 Max planes after two deadly plane crashes involving the 737 8 models, passengers on Southwest Airlines do have some recourse if they choose not to fly on the Boeing model.

A Southwest Airlines spokesman said the airline is working with customers who wish to rebook their flights on a case-by-case basis. As a courtesy, the airline said it will waive the fare difference for the new flight between the same city pairs, the spokesman said.

The waiver is available through March 18. The airline added that it was not issuing refunds of non-refundable fares.

Southwest and American Airlines are the two U.S. carriers that fly the Boeing 737 Max 8 models.

On Wednesday, Canada grounded the 737 Max 8 planes. According to CBC News, the country's transportation minister, Marc Garneau, said the decision was made after officials reviewed new data that suggested similarities between Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash in October 2018.