Will it be a Boeing or Airbus flight? More fliers check plane models when booking trips

A recent midair cabin blowout of a new Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing jet has instilled immense fear among travelers, so much so that they have started checking the model of an aircraft before booking the flights.

A report by Reuters cited Booking Holdings-owned Kayak saying it has seen a spike in the use of a filter on its website that enables travelers to screen by plane model following 5 January, 2024 incident.

Last Friday, when the 737 MAX 9 jetliner departed in Portland, Ore., a door plug — an exit sealed with a panel rather than used as a door — blew out about halfway down the fuselage of the aircraft. That left a gaping hole directly next to a row of seats. No one was sitting right next to the missing door plug.

Oxygen masks dropped from above, forcing pilots to turn back and land safely the aircraft with all 171 passengers and six crew members on board.

Since the incident, the US regulators have grounded 171 737 MAX 9 planes for safety checks while Alaska and United Airlines, which together have 70 per cent of the 737 MAX 9 fleet, have canceled hundreds of flights.

Fear among travelers

As per the report, Kayak has shifted the filter up on its website to make it more prominent and added the ability to check specifically for the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 models.

Internova Travel Group, which represents more than 100,000 travel advisors worldwide, has also said that it has seen more queries about plane models.

“The consumer who is aware of the situation is asking our agents, ‘is this an impacted plane?'” Reuters quoted Peter Vlitas, an executive at the company, as saying.

When the MAX 9 jet resumes service, he said Internova agents will inform customers which model plane they will be booked on to regain client confidence.

This week saw many travelers rearranging flights after cancellations by United and Alaska, said Paul Charles, chief executive of the travel consultancy PC Agency.

Some travelers have gone an extra mile to add plane model to their list of criteria along with price and amenities when booking a trip.

“This incident has made us realise that there is another step that we need to add to our checklist while booking a flight,” said Chaitra Yangandul, a Washington DC-based travel content creator.

Not all have shown concern

Passengers had not shown any concern about flying on Boeing 737 aircraft since the grounding, said Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary.

Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers is one of Boeing’s largest customers and operates different variants of the 737 MAX from the type that has been grounded.

“We see no indication of any passenger concern … not one passenger,” emphasised O’Leary, adding that the biggest threat to the MAX came when it was grounded for nearly two years in 2019 following two crashes.

The UK’s travel agent trade body – Association of British Travel Agents, or ABTA – said it has not received any calls from members of the public or travel agency members about the issue.

A few other travel companies including Tripadvisor said it was too soon to track a major shift in booking or travel habits.

With inputs from Reuters