Kayak Now Lets Travelers Exclude Boeing 737 Max 9 Planes When Booking Flights
Boeing is once again under intense regulatory scrutiny after a door plug went off mid-air on one of its 737 MAX 9 planes, but customers are also actively avoiding its flagship vehicles while booking tickets. Travel search service Kayak says it has experienced an unprecedented 15 times higher usage for a tool that allows customers to exclude certain planes from their flight options.
Kayak introduced the tool back in 2019, letting users exclude or include specific vehicles owing to their personal preferences. Given the scary incident earlier this year in which an Alaska Airlines flight underwent a rapid depressurization that could have ended in a disaster, a healthy bunch of Kayak visitors are filtering out the Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes.
"Following the spike in usage, KAYAK moved its filter up so it's more prominent for travelers when searching for a flight," a Kayak spokesperson told 404 Media. In addition to highlighting the option to exclude the aforementioned risk-prone, the company also offers users the option to exclude the still-operational Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.
Not the first Boeing bungle
Kayak introduced its airplane filtering feature in 2019 following a deadly Ethiopian Airlines accident involving the Boeing 737 Max 8. But this won't be the end of a public image nightmare for Boeing. Following the latest incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it is temporarily grounding Boeing 737 Max 9 planes for urgent inspections before they can fly again. Alaska Airlines, on the other hand, grounded its entire Boeing 737 MAX 9 fleet, amounting to 65 airplanes. Alaska Airlines has also concluded its internal investigation, in the meanwhile, and handed over its findings to the FAA.
The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight.
Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the @NTSB's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. – @FAA_Mike pic.twitter.com/YsuQimg2pq
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 6, 2024
In 2019, all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 jets were barred from flying with immediate effect following the deadly crash in Ethiopia in which 157 lives were lost, not too long after another accident in Indonesia that resulted in 189 casualties. The ban in the U.S. was executed after over 40 countries had already grounded Boeing's airplanes, and pressure was mounting on the Trump administration to take decisive action.
Back then, pilots had reported issues with the autopilot system that caused the nose to suddenly tilt down. In 2021, Boeing recommended that some airlines temporarily discontinue 737 Max services due to electrical system issues. Less than a month ago, the FAA also highlighted "a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system" of Beoing's MAX airplanes.