An easy way, for now, to avoid the 737-MAX is to figure out which airlines are flying the plane, and when. If you don't want to fly it, the simplest solution would be to choose another airline. Here's the airlines with firm orders, or letters of intent to fly the 737 MAX, many of which have already been delivered.
The Boeing 737 MAX has had its fair share of troubles since it entered service but has been safely flying since December 2020, with hundreds of units in the sky every day.
It's often listed on boarding passes or tickets, or passengers can call and ask the airline. If they see they would be flying on a 737 MAX 8 and they choose not to take that flight because they feel unsafe, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both said their standard flight change policies would apply.
Is it safe now? By endorsement of the FAA, Boeing and its pilots, the 737 MAX has been determined as safe to fly. But safe pilots fly planes safely and part of being a safe pilot is being well-trained and well-informed as to the full functionality of an aircraft's systems.
“If a customer doesn't want to fly on the 737 MAX, they won't have to. Our customers will be able to easily identify whether they are traveling on one even if schedules change. If a customer prefers to not fly on this aircraft, we'll provide flexibility to ensure they can be easily re-accommodated.”
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have approved the MAX as safe to fly passengers.
The Telegraph said: “Norwegian's 737s have the same issue (avoid seats 10A, 11A and 11F), as does American Airlines' (steer clear of 11A and 11F). “But if you fly with easyJet, the windowless perches are at the back, rather than in the middle.
Boeing and its 180-seat 737 MAX have been dealt a hammer blow after long-time customer Qantas abandoned the Seattle aerospace giant in favour of Europe's Airbus and its A320neo family of narrow-body jets as part of its Project Winton fleet refurbishment.
After much modification and extensive testing, Boeing returned with the Max for re-certification. I met an aviation enthusiast last week, and he asked me a direct question, “Is the Boeing 737 Max Safe?” My immediate answer was, “Of course it is!
We are fully confident in the safety of the 737 MAX, in the updates, and in the work technicians performed while these planes were on the ground: Updating the plane with the latest FAA-approved flight deck software. Rewiring the aircraft. Opening and inspecting the fuel tanks.
Union officials indicate that pilots like the Max and are confident in the changes from Boeing. Representatives of three unions said that crews were largely happy with the plane and added that, except at a select few airlines, training backlogs were the biggest challenge to getting more pilots in the cockpit.
Southwest maintains the largest Boeing 737 MAX fleet, though the Ryanair Group is close to knocking the US low-cost carrier from the top.
The FAA's December 2018 risk analysis estimated that without action to address the jet's faulty flight control system, the MAX would suffer an average of about one crash every three years during the life of the worldwide fleet.
The move away from the MAX name has been a subtle process and Boeing has begun to use the name 737 MAX and 737-8(7 through 10) interchangeably. This way they are transitioning away from the MAX name toward the normal naming convention of modern Boeing aircraft.
As of March 2023, there have been a total of 503 aviation accidents and incidents involving all 737 aircraft, including 219 hull losses resulting in a total of 5,717 fatalities. The 737 first entered airline service in February 1968; the 10,000th aircraft entered service in March 2018.
In December 2021, Qantas announced it had selected the Airbus A321XLR to replace its Boeing 737-800s, and the Airbus A220 to replace its QantasLink Boeing 717s. The in-principle agreement was for up to 134 orders and purchase right options over 10 plus years with deliveries occurring sometime after 1 July 2023.
The FAA ultimately grounded the MAX on March 13, 2019 and lifted the flight prohibition order in November 2020 after Boeing made a series of software upgrades and training changes.
A new era is coming for Virgin Australia as it has taken delivery of the first of its new aircraft, the latest in the Boeing 737 MAX family.
On Friday, Australia's second-largest domestic airline, Virgin Australia, landed its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 in its hometown of Brisbane.
Virgin Australia's first Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet is finally Down Under. Once it enters into service, it'll appear on Australian domestic flights throughout July. It'll then be deployed onto Cairns-Tokyo flights from 30 July 2023.
While the best seat can be subjective, seats with the most legroom are often the most coveted. These seats include the bulkhead seats (row 1), the exit row seats, and the window seats behind the exit row door (seat 12A on the Boeing 737-700 and seats 16A and 16F on the Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8).
The middle seat in the final seat is your safest bet
The middle rear seats of an aircraft had the lowest fatality rate: 28%, compared to 44% for the middle aisle seats, according to a TIME investigation that examined 35 years' worth of aircraft accident data.
Because of the sheer intensity of the scrutiny the aircraft faced, the Boeing 737 MAX could be considered one of the safest in the world. In fact, among the dozens of models of commercial airliners around the world, it is likely the safest due to the amount of regulation testing that took place.