Online travel agent allows customers to filter out Boeing 737 Max planes

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 620 points –
Online travel agent allows customers to filter out Boeing 737 Max planes
theguardian.com

Online travel agent allows customers to filter out Boeing 737 Max planes::Kayak customers can exclude Max 9 aircraft after cabin panel blowout on Alaska Airlines flight

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Seems small but something like this could kill this plane as a passenger jet if enough people are avoiding em.

I'm all for it to be honest. The 737 Max sounds like a death trap, and until Boeing is banned from certifying their own planes nobody should be flying in these IMO.

The FAA needs to start certifying these themselves again, and remove the existing loopholes/exemptions that allow some design changes to avoid recertification

Hardly likely. If enough people start doing it, either airlines will start hiding the plane model, or boeing will rename it after some marketing to show things have changed, and the world will move on.

If this was the first incident with the Max, I'd agree with you.

But repeated issues close together have caused regulators amd the general public to look closer at Boeing as a whole; particularly their inspection, certification, and maintenance practices. I don't think this will go away easily.

I'm starting to see content like this often:

https://youtu.be/hhT4M0UjJcg?si=sKJbR07hUq40UaV0

yes... this does not seem a problem with Max, but one with Boeing. The US passengers don't really have an option to choose Airbus when most of the airlines' fleet in the US is Boeing.

I don’t think this will go away easily.

We can hope so.

Multiple airlines in the US already have majority Airbus fleets. It’s not quite as hard to avoid as you might think

Delta is primarily an Airbus fleet. They do not currently fly any 737 MAX planes, though they have ordered 100 Max 10s for delivery starting in 2025.

I'll assume they're being pressured into it by the significant fuel savings the max offers over their current fleet.

Or, if are willing to fly any of the big 3's regional brands it'll be on a regional jet which Boeing doesn't make. Generally those are made by Bombardier or less commonly Embraer. Though, bigger plane means smoother flight.

I’ll assume they're being pressured into it by the significant fuel savings the max offers over their current fleet.

Perhaps to replace existing 737s. But the Airbus A320neo has similar fuel efficiency with high bypass turbofans.

Aren't all commercial plane turbine engines high bypass turbofans? (excluding turboprop)

Serious question, because I assumed that's how they all worked, but this sounds like it is special or in spite of and it got me wondering.

The A320neo and the Boeing 737 Max use larger turbofans for increasingly higher efficiency gains. These larger engines would be scraping on the ground with the original 737 design, which is why the engines had to be mounted further forward and higher on the wings. This is what changes the flight characteristics, leading Boeing to develop the MCAS system to make the plane fly like the older 737s, which famously led to two crashed planes when it malfunctioned.

The Airbus A320neo did not run into this problem because the landing gear for the A320 are longer and it sits much higher off the ground, so throwing on the larger turbofans still left them with plenty of ground clearance.

I agree with you on this one. There's public sentiment and then there's market reality. The hard truth is that most people have a need for a practical flight route within a certain window and there's limited choices. Delta, United, etc. only have so many aircraft servicing so many routes and they already bought the aircraft and have to use them. While I'd personally like to avoid the 737 MAX, if it's the only feasible choice, then that's the one I gotta roll the dice on. I guess I'll avoid window seats if possible.

don't forget one of those aviator hats with visor, just in case

Nah, they will simply sell the planes to other markets. I’m sure there are plenty of non-US airlines willing to gobble up planes at a discount. The pundit and lobby machine would get engaged and magically there would be a big industry bailout to cover the losses.

The US is where they're getting away with murder on their certification process. If the FAA cracks down on them, the world will follow the FAA's guidance.

If I recall correctly this is basically what killed the dc-10