Southwest Debuts Boeing 737 MAX 8

Southwest Airlines debuted the Boeing 737 MAX 8 over the weekend.

The Dallas-based low-cost carrier announced Sunday it became the first airline in North America to utilize the new aircraft for commercial service.

The inaugural flight departed Dallas Love Field for Houston to celebrate one of the airline's first markets.

However, the rollout was not without its hiccups. The Points Guy's Emily McNutt reports that Southwest CEO, Gary Kelly, who took part in the inaugural flight, has issued an apology to passengers after an indicator light prompted the airline to bring in a replacement aircraft.

"Ultimately we realized the fix would take longer than expected, and the decision was made to substitute another aircraft to operate the flight," Kelly wrote in an email to passengers. "I'm so sorry we were unable to continue the inaugural celebration of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. I know this was upsetting, and I sincerely share in your disappointment."

Kelly said Southwest will refund passengers' one-way airfare and send them a $250 voucher for their trouble.

Southwest is currently operating nine MAX 8s and expects to have 14 in service by the end of the year.

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"Today, we begin a new chapter in Southwest's history by introducing the Boeing 737 MAX 8 to our customers and employees," said Kelly, in a statement aboard the inaugural scheduled flight. 

"The MAX 8 is the future of the Southwest fleet and we look forward to connecting customers to the important moments in their lives through our legendary service delivered with this more fuel efficient aircraft designed to produce less noise in the communities we serve."

As of July, Southwest said it has 200 firm orders for a combination of MAX 7 and MAX 8 planes.

The airline's MAX 8s feature a single-class cabin with 175 seats boasting 32 inches of seat pitch. Other highlights include LED lighting sequence for each phase of the flight and specific music playlists for boarding and deplaning.

The aircraft also features CFM International's brand new LEAP-1B engines designed to be more fuel efficient and less noisy.

READ MORE: Southwest Customer Accepts Song & Dance Challenge

According to the Dallas Morning News, Southwest retired 30 planes to make room for the new MAX 8s. The now-retired Boeing 737-300s were apart of Southwest's fleet for more than three decades.

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