It was bound to happen. While I was no longer actively avoiding the 737 MAX, I hadn’t flown on one of them. I had a flight scheduled on a Southwest 737 MAX8 earlier this year but a last-minute equipment swap left us on a 737-800.
Honestly, I’ve stopped looking at the plane type when flying on Southwest as the experience is very similar for most of their fleet. It wasn’t until I stepped onto the plane and sat down that I realized that I’d be taking my first MAX flight.
I first noticed that the seat was comfortable with plenty of legroom. My backpack fit easily into the space under the seat and I still had plenty of room.
The seats on Southwest’s 737 MAX8s have 32 inches of pitch and are 17.8 inches wide (the widest seat available on any 737.)
The overhead bins were large and easily fit all carry-on bags on this full flight.
I can’t lie that I had a slight bit of anxiety as we taxied to the runway. As we took off, I noticed how quiet the engines were. While I usually need to use the noise canceling on my headphones, I could have gotten away without it.
What can I say? The 737 MAX8 is a comfortable plane.
I know that not all airlines have as comfortable of a layout as Southwest. Other airlines chose to squeeze more seats onto the plane and I could see that making a huge difference.
But for my first flight, I’d say the experience was a good one. I no longer dread getting onboard a Southwest plane and seeing the MAX8 safety card in the seat pocket.
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