The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition Southwest Airlines Co. is delaying delivery of new airplanes and filling the gap with used planes to reduce spending over the next five years. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe says Southwest said Wednesday that it will delay 30 firm orders for Boeing 737 jets in a move that will cut capital spending through 2018 by more than $500-million (all figures U.S.). Southwest will buy 10 used 737s from Canada's WestJet over the next two years. They average about 11 or 12 years old and should bide Southwest over until Boeing begins producing a new, more fuel-efficient 737 model called the Max later in this decade. Without revealing the buyer, WestJet had announced the sale in its quarterly financial statement on May 7. Southwest is not disclosing financial details of the Boeing and WestJet deals, which were announced at the Dallas company's annual meeting. Southwest is raising the quarterly dividend and boosting its share-buyback authority to $1.5-billion from $1-billion. The company has bought $725-million in its own stock since August, 2011. Southwest is alone among major U.S. carriers in being consistently profitable for many years.