Some fliers are nervous to travel aboard Boeing aircraft following a stream of flight problems within the last three months say they fight to book flights on other planes while others say they’ve turned to prayer or medications to get through their trips.
The shift in response toward Boeing took off in January after a panel plugging the space reserved for an unused emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines jetliner 16,000 feet above Oregon. While pilots landed the Boeing 737 Max 9 safely, the incident has left a mark on many travelers.
“I just can’t step on that plane,” Leila Amineddoleh told NBC News, referring to Boeing aircraft. “Even when the possibility of getting hurt on a Boeing flight, even with all these incidents, is slim.”
The last deadly crash involving a U.S. airliner occurred in February 2009 in an industry that saw 9.6 million flights last yr. More Americans die in motor-vehicle crashes annually, based on the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Even with the info, concerns about air safety – especially with Boeing planes – proceed to be on the forefront of travelers’ minds.
One other traveler, Stephanie Partitions, told the news outlet that her normal ritual of praying during air travel wasn’t enough to stop her from re-booking a flight so she could travel on an Airbus plane as an alternative of a Boeing aircraft.
Meanwhile, Adrian Rojas told the outlet that his fear of flying prompted him to go to therapy, and when he does fly, he takes anti-anxiety medication. He said he’s avoiding the whole Boeing Max series of planes and re-books flights accordingly.
“I just know that it’s something I can be desirous about quite a bit right as I get on the plane, so I’m just attempting to limit that for my mental health,” Rojas said.
Because the Alaska Airlines incident, travel search engine Kayak has observed a big shift in user behavior, reporting a staggering 15-fold increase within the usage of its aircraft filter in January. The info highlights a heightened desire to know the precise model of aircraft prior to booking their flights.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the incident. The FBI also began notifying passengers that they might be a “possible victim of against the law.”
Boeing recently failed 33 points of a federal audit with a complete of 97 points of noncompliance, based on The Recent York Times. The corporate passed 56 points of the audit.
The corporate’s CEO David Calhoun wrote in a memo to employees in late January that “this increased scrutiny – whether from ourselves, from our regulator, or from others – will make us higher.”
