Posted 5 days ago

Would you fly in a Boeing 737 Max ?

After all the accidents, scandals and coverups , it gets more muddy:

They dont even have a paper trail of the repairs (not) to the blown door.

telegraph.co.uk/us/…ad/

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12th Mar
To answer the question in the title - Looking at how many of them fly multiple times a day without issue, they are still very safe, even if they now have a very poor reputation for totally avoidable incidents.

With that said, I would still personally try to avoid flying on one if given the choice.

Honestly I tend to try and avoid Boeing aircraft in general if there is an alternative. In my experience their competitors tend to give a more pleasant ride. With KLM for example one of my local routes is a choice of a Boeing 737-800 and an Embraer E195-E2. The Embraer is much less cramped with more legroom, feels much smoother and quieter to ride on, air quality on board is better, and much more fuel efficient with lower emissions which is great for the environment.
12th Mar
The older 777 has been extremely safe and reliable which is why it is a workhorse with many airlines, especially the 777-300ER; the last plane made by Boeing before the non engineers bought it. Unfortunately, it is now showing its age.

The 737-800 is also now almost 25 years old while the E190 is newer. So the latter will be better. And you will love the A220. (edited)
4 h, 4 m ago
Never. Can you find out what airline would be use before booking ticket?

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3 h, 6 m ago
You can generally get a good idea yes. Websites like FlightRadar24 shows you the history of any given flight number so you can see which planes are used on that route at which time/day. Some airlines even specifically tell you what plane it will be on their website, especially if it lets you book your own seat.

The only thing is that substitutions can happen at short notice sometimes. So if you want to be 100% certain you don't fly on one you would have to check an airline company's fleet list and make sure that the company you book to fly with doesn't have any Max's in their fleet at all.

Someone did originally create ismyplanea737max.com as a much simpler way of checking, but it's now stopped working as the owner couldn't afford the data traffic it attracted.
12th Mar
Was a commercial pilot for 30y. Yes I would fly in a 737max. All commercial a/c have their failings, most get very little publicity. Boeing has had a run, Airbus had a run in the 90's. Be picky about the airline rather than the airliner. Article below shows 2023 one of safest years for commercial flying, so relax. iata.org/en/…01/
Author
13th Mar
Picky about Airline. You are differentiating between (Airline) poor maintenance after purchase and Airliner (Boeing) adopting poor manufacturing design/standards and adopting shortcuts, skipping details.(costs controls and cutting corners).
12th Mar
I wouldn't have an issue flying on it.
12th Mar
Would rather be in it
Author
12th Mar
And when whistleblowers die mysteriously in a car park, more alarm bells start ringing.

The 737 Max is a known design compromise between a safe aircraft design and risky attempt at flying cheaply (more trial /error wishful thinking) at a cost of physical design limitations. (ie the Engine size, height from the ground, Manoeuverability etc). And overlooking critical maintenance procedures.

I guess all dictated by the beancounters.

But then being in the USA, and too big to fail , Boeing will carry on regardless. A few crashed victims can be paid off, out of court settlements against a backdrop of large corporate profits and bonuses.
12th Mar
Last Week Tonight With John oliver covered this in last week's episode.

Series 11 episode 3

Makes for an interesting watch.
12th Mar
The Long-Forgotten Flight That Sent Boeing Off Course: A company once driven by engineers became driven by finance.

Use 12ft to read.
Author
12th Mar
What a nicely written and succinct article.

Thanks for shring t, HappyShopper.
12th Mar
I ain’t getting on no plane fool.
12th Mar
Some awful PR lately for sure. But if you look at lists of mass-fatality accidents in the US, the last major ones were in 2006 and 2009 - both Bombardiers, both pilot error. Fatality rates have been plummeting for decades.

There was a potentially major one in 2018 when a Boeing's engine fully exploded, breaking windows and peppering the wing/fuselage at high speed. It's pretty much the nightmare scenario, but despite that the plane survived , descended from altitude and landed normally. One poor soul right next to the engine died - obviously a tragedy for them, but in the past with lower standards that's probably everybody on board. (edited)
12th Mar
Interesting question you pose..

Some data here - en.wikipedia.org/wik…ies
12th Mar
Boeing has a major culture problem and it is not going to be fixed overnight. It needs to return to being an engineering company first but unfortunately, the rot that started 20+ years ago under Harry Stonecipher is not getting fixed with the current CEO Dave Calhoun nor his likely successor Stephanie Pope who was named the COO in December.
12th Mar
Ryanair has rebranded their max fleet as the 737-8200. Flew on one the other day and I must admit I was worried after the crashes and documentaries I've seen. Was very smooth and I've either lost weight or the leg room is actually OK.
12th Mar
No way would I, even if the flight was free. This plane has major problems!
12th Mar
Flew in one last year. Feels more spacious inside. Sometimes you don’t have a choice.
12th Mar
I'd risk it.
13th Mar
Been on it tonnes of times but that’s the max 8 version which doesn’t have the door issue as Ryanair use it as a door rather than try to pretend it’s a normal row by bolting a window in

id imagibe if airlines like Alaska wernt doing that then it wouldn’t have blown out. Left as a proper door it has a proper lock on it rather than some loose bolts
14th Mar
If they were that bad then the CAA and FAA would be grounding all flights.
14th Mar
Did last week.