With whistleblower revelations and amassing safety incidents plaguing Boeing’s aircraft fleet, some travelers are taking the “If it’s Boeing, I’m not going” phrase to heart.
Alternative Airlines, a booking tool, now allows anxious travelers to seek out routes and carriers that do not use the troubled Boeing 737 MAX.
According to the company’s website, “At Alternative Airlines, we make it easy to see which type of plane is being used for each flight when you’re buying your flight. This means that you can easily avoid any flight that is being operated with the Boeing 737 MAX.”
Passenger trust in the jet has declined since the Jan. 5 door plug incident on an Alaska Airlines flight revealed safety gaps in the manufacturer’s certification process. Moreover, the MAX 8 was grounded for nearly two years following fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people.
Another prominent travel booking platform, Kayak, also gives travelers the option to exclude any of the Max aircraft. According to Scripps News, Kayak has said since the Jan. 6 incident, the company has seen an increase of 15 times the amount of people searching to exclude a Max 9 in their travel plans.
