Will you fly on a Boeing 737 Max 8?

[kimblebee]

Canada has now grounded the 737 Max because of additional data they've received.

Batter up USA.

Or the political pressure in the US to not ground Boeing (an American company).

It’s starting to feel like there’s $ome rea$on the US won’t ground them.

 

[kdonnel]

We've never flown. With Frontier offering free kids airfare, I just about had DH convinced for our next trip to Disney (14 hr car ride).

He is now back to "I'm never getting on a plane."

That's a shame. There is so much of the US and World to see.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Why not ground them until you have the evidence? Like the rest of the world is doing. No need to use humans as guinea pigs.

I don’t see that as realistic. If both crashes prove to be from the same cause, yes, I’m all for grounding.
I think it’s a panicked gesture to ground the fleet because of two accidents which are possibly unrelated.
Aircraft designs undergo more testing than most realize, and in order for the aircraft to get certified in the first place is quite a process.
If you feel like a guinea pig by all means do not fly on one. I just don’t want to see the strong arm of the government over react.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We're talking 24 planes for American (94 flights out of 6700) and 34 for Southwest. (160 flights out of 4000.) The vast majority of both airlines fleets and flights would remain in the air. With so few in the air, and the firmware fix due next month, I think it would make sense to ground them.

Agreed it’s a small percentage of the flights, but let me ask you...
If it proves not to be a design flaw, do we reimburse AA and SW for all the lost revenue?

 

[Sandeep1]

I don’t see that as realistic. If both crashes prove to be from the same cause, yes, I’m all for grounding.
I think it’s a panicked gesture to ground the fleet because of two accidents which are possibly unrelated.
Aircraft designs undergo more testing than most realize, and in order for the aircraft to get certified in the first place is quite a process.
If you feel like a guinea pig by all means do not fly on one. I just don’t want to see the strong arm of the government over react.

You don't see it as realistic and you see it as panic when the rest of the world has done it? That's truly bizarre logic.

I know you want the last word so you can have it.

 

[sa cheermom]

https://onemileatatime.com/faa-737-max/

Obviously a lot of debate over this plane right now. Nearly every country has grounded these planes except of course for North America.

So what are your thoughts? Will you fly on one or avoid at all cost?

The US was one of the last countries to ground the plane. I thought we were the leaders? We have an "acting" FAA Director, so definitely not trusting his judgement for the country since his decision was made due to pressure. I will defer to the individual airlines and their actual informed decisions.

I have a flight to Orlando end of April for Worlds. Just looked and currently they are flying the 737-max on theat route. I figure by the end of April they will either have grounded the plane or it will be the safest plane in the air with all the research they are going to do on it in the next month and a half before I fly.

So, I will definitely fly it in April if that is the equipment that is assigned to the route at that time. If I had to get on one tomorrow, I would probably be researching to see if I could switch my flight.

 

[soccerdad72]

The world, as a whole, tends to be a reactionary society. Frankly, I'm surprised the US hasn't grounded them, given that we're one of the worst governments in terms of reaction-ism.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

You don't see it as realistic and you see it as panic when the rest of the world has done it? That's truly bizarre logic.

I know you want the last word so you can have it.

You are correct. I do see it as panic at this point. Obviously as more info gets processed that may change.

 

[MamaBelle4]

By far the most dangerous part of your trip is driving to the airport.

I know.

That's a shame. There is so much of the US and World to see.

I agree. Even though it's an irrational fear, I understand it. I'm hoping he can work though it at some point. If he can't, we can travel through cruise ships (which we've done before and love) or I can travel with my sister if I choose to.

I don't have an overabundance of wanderlust right now, but there is much of the world I want to see.

 

[kdonnel]

Well, the DC-10 did sort of die after the Chicago incident in 1979. While those still in production were finished, McDonnell-Douglas didn't receive any new orders for passenger models.

https://www.aviationpros.com/home/news/10393714/northwest-flies-the-dc10-on-its-last-flight

Initially, the Federal Aviation Administration did its due diligence: It worked deliberately and didn't jump to conclusions. But pressure mounted on then-FAA chief Langhorne Bond to take drastic action; he was called to testify at a House hearing. The public was hungry for a culprit.

In June 1979, Bond dealt the DC-10 what many consider a deathblow: He grounded all 138 DC-10s in service in the U.S.; the order was lifted 37 days later. All but a handful around the world also were grounded.

What was lost in the outcry was the FAA's final conclusion: American Airlines' maintenance was mostly to blame for the Flight 191 crash -- not McDonnell Douglas' design. In fact, of all the fatal DC-10 accidents before 1980, only one crash near Paris was blamed on a design flaw (which McDonnell Douglas and airlines quickly fixed).

This is why emotion should not play into the decision to ground any plane.

If it turns out that a design flaw is not the cause of the latest crash, the governments that jumped to a conclusion should have to reimburse not only the airlines affected but the passengers as well.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Agreed it’s a small percentage of the flights, but let me ask you...
If it proves not to be a design flaw, do we reimburse AA and SW for all the lost revenue?

They can both easily move passengers onto other flights and can wait to retire some of their older models for another month.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

They can both easily move passengers onto other flights and can wait to retire some of their older models for another month.

Okay. Although I work for the airlines, I am not privy to the available capacity and retirement of aircraft.

I would assume both AA and SW do not want an accident on their record, yet they both find the airplane airworthy. If it was a non issue to ground them I wonder why they don’t voluntarily do so...

 

[GreatLakes]

If AA ans SW were truly worried they would ground the flights. They are not going to risk their own reputation to save Boeing's reputation or money. At this point I do think it is an overreaction by the rest of the world but if more information comes to light I'll change my mind.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well I just got an alert on my phone.
Apparently the FAA will ground the Max.

Unclear if they uncovered new info, or they succumbed to political pressure.

 

[DLgal]

And, the US has now followed suit.

We should have been the first, not the last.

If one of these crashed planes had been a domestic airline, that plane would been grounded immediately.

 

[DLgal]

If AA ans SW were truly worried they would ground the flights. They are not going to risk their own reputation to save Boeing's reputation or money. At this point I do think it is an overreaction by the rest of the world but if more information comes to light I'll change my mind.

Even though the planes have now been grounded., AA and SW are also the two airlines grappling with mechanic union negotiations and cancelling dozens of flights every day due to equipment that is out of commission. The last thing either would voluntarily do is take MORE planes out of commission.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. The NTSB should have some preliminary answers fairly quickly.... if not already.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Even though the planes have now been grounded., AA and SW are also the two airlines grappling with mechanic union negotiations and cancelling dozens of flights every day due to equipment that is out of commission. The last thing either would voluntarily do is take MORE planes out of commission.

To an airline, no amount of cancelled flights or lost revenue is worth a fatal accident. I truly believe if AA or SW thought it was a safety issue they would have self grounded.
That said, the NTSB will know, or currently knows, more than the specific airline.

 

[sa cheermom]

.

 

[Sandeep1]

Well the U.S. just grounded them so the question is moot.

The FAA must be panicking.