It seems that 2024 has not been a good year for Boeing as every passing day brings more bad news. Recently, there have been several incidents involving Boeing aircraft. These include a broken door stopper on an Alaska Airlines plane, a crack in the front glass of an ANA plane, a wheel that fell off a Delta plane, wing damage on a United plane, an engine fire on a United plane, a tire that fell off a United plane, and a “technical failure” of a LATAM plane. Unfortunately, these are just a few examples of the recent issues that have occurred with Boeing planes in the past three months.
“I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus,” Kirby continued, adding that every case was being reviewed by the airline and would influence its safety training and procedures.
So, ARE Boeing planes safe? It depends on who you ask.
There are roughly 100,000 flights per day, all around the world. I can’t find statistics of how many of those planes were made by Airbus vs. Boeing, but suffice to say that many, many more Boeing planes take off and land without incident every day than those that are reported to have a problem.
On the other hand, the FAA’s recent audit of Boeing showed “multiple instances” of quality control issues.
On top of that, former Boeing employee Ed Pierson told the L.A. Times that he would absolutely not fly a Max airplane. “I’ve worked in the factory where they were built, and I saw the pressure employees were under to rush the planes out the door. I tried to get them to shut down before the first crash.”
Should you fly on a Boeing plane right now? I think everyone has their own level of comfort with the thought. But IF you’ve decided you’d rather not fly on a plane made by Boeing right now, or at the very least you’d like to not fly on a Boeing 737 MAX, here are some tools – websites and apps – to help you avoid them.
The airlines’ respective websites
Most major airlines include information about the flight and what type of plane you’re going to fly in. When searching for a flight, the plane’s body type, like an Airbus 319neo or Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is usually in the description before you hit the button to purchase your ticket. Some booking sites even give you access to this information before selecting the flight.
And if you have an existing bookings, flight details are usually available online or in the airline’s app.
Flightaware & Flightradar24
For Flightaware, you can identify your flight’s aircraft by entering the flight number or the start and end airports of your flight path. You’ll either be taken directly to the flight information or to a list where you can find your specific flight.
For Flightradar24, you can find out what kind of plane is being used by entering the flight number, airport or route. Just like Flightaware, you’ll either be offered a list where you can find your specific flight, or brought directly to the flight in question.
Kayak
When searching for a flight, Kayak shows several details once you click on your preferred flight. You can find layover times, if any, the type of plane you’ll be flying on, as well as other things. Plane details are displayed in the top right corner of the flight selection.
Alternative Airlines
When searching for flights on the platform, users can click the “details” button to see other flight information. Once details load, some of the options indicate the plane’s body type…but not all of them do. So although helpful, it doesn’t necessarily cover every flight out there, which is a shame.
However they do list which airlines do not fly the 737 MAX. In the U.S., they include:
- Allegiant Air*
- Delta*
- Frontier Airlines
- Avelo Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue
- Spirit Airlines
- Sun Country Airlines
*Allegiant has 50 orders of the Boeing 737 MAX – deliveries were expected to begin in 2023.
*Delta Air Lines has 100 orders of the Boeing 737 MAX – deliveries to begin in 2025.
Alternative Airlines has similar lists for airlines based on Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania, Central America and North America (not including the US).
Caveat
The above ways to avoid flying on a Boeing plane, especially a 737 MAX, are just a guide and will not guarantee what type of plane you’ll be on. Airlines reserve the right to switch planes due to maintenance or any other reason they choose. If you’re truly that concerned, look into the airlines that don’t fly Boeing and/or the 737 MAX.
But also keep in mind that on any given day, thousands of Boeing planes fly from Point A to Point B with no problems whatsoever.
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