Airlines wrestle with calls, cancellations after Boeing MAX fleet grounded

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines arrivals board displaying American Airlines flight 2669, which was scheduled to be flown by a Boeing 737 Max 8, arriving from Miami to New York City at LaGuardia Airport, is seen as cancelled, in New York, U.S., March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton//File Photo

MONTREAL/CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian carriers wrestled with customer calls and flight cancellations on Thursday after the two countries followed other nations in grounding Boeing's 737 MAX planes because of safety concerns.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co, the largest operator of the 737 MAX in the world with 34 jets, said it was experiencing unusually high call volumes and had cancelled 39 MAX flights.