Flight safety on Boeing 737 Max6: Kayak travel agent allows you to exclude them from search results
Max 9 aircraft were temporarily taken out of service by the US Federal Aviation Administration after a fuselage panel exploded during an Alaska Airlines flight. The rapid loss of pressure in the cabin tore the child's clothes off and caused oxygen masks to fall from the ceiling, but miraculously, none of the 171 passengers and six crew members were injured.
Online travel agent Kayak says that after the incident earlier this month, the number of users who want to avoid airliners has increased dramatically, Euronews Travel writes. Kayak users can now filter out planes of the same model as those involved in the Alaska Airlines incident.
Why do people avoid flying certain airplanes?
"Kayak introduced its airline filter in March 2019 due to safety concerns about the Boeing 737 Max, as well as customer feedback to make KAYAK filters more detailed," the group reports.
The airliners were suspended worldwide from March 2019 to December 2020 (or longer in some countries) after 346 people died in two similar crashes: Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019.
Travelers also sometimes have preferences for seat arrangements or row numbers (some airlines skip the 13th row due to superstition), which leads them to avoid certain types of jets.
However, this filter has been used relatively little compared to other parameters such as airports or number of stops.
After the incident with Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737 Max 9 on January 5, the company reports that the use of this parameter increased 15 times from January 6 to 10.
"The jump from low numbers has led Kayak to make it easier to search by aircraft type. We've also added the ability to filter specifically by 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft models," the company says.
Are Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft safe?
Following the explosion of the cabin panel, Max 9 aircraft were temporarily banned by the US Federal Aviation Administration. However, after "thorough inspection and maintenance," the aircraft should return to service in the next few days.
"We grounded the Boeing 737 Max 9 within hours of the incident over Portland and made it clear that this aircraft would not return to service until it was safe," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.
"The comprehensive, extensive review that our team has completed after several weeks of gathering information gives me and the FAA confidence that we can proceed with the inspection and maintenance phase."
When asked if the company was concerned that the Max 9 filter could increase fears about flying these aircraft, despite the fact that they are considered safe to re-enter service, Kayak replied: "Our goal is to keep passengers safe: "Our goal is to provide travelers with the ability to tailor their travel plans to suit their personal needs and preferences."
