Door torn off on Alaska Airlines flight: Kayak website now allows you to exclude trips on the Boeing 737 MAX

After the spectacular Alaska Airlines flight incident, the fallout for Boeing continues to worsen. Flight comparator website Kayak now allows its users to exclude Boeing 737 Max 9 and Boeing 737 Max 8 when choosing a flight. This modification comes after an incident in early January with the 737 Max 9 model in the United States. -United, whose door fell apart mid-flight.

The filtering functionality by aircraft model has been in place since May 2019, but Kayak refined its criteria in recent days after noticing a 15-fold increase in the number of users filtering 737 Max flights, a Kayak spokesperson explains to 404 Media. “While it is typically not the most used filter, the company has noticed a noticeable difference in filter usage on the 737 Max since the incident,” Parisian Kayak confirms, “indicating that the aircraft type is in fact at the highest level. Now this is the most important thing that worries travelers. »

Two changes were made: the filter was moved to the top of the page “to make it more visible to travelers when searching for a flight.” On the other hand, the company added “the ability to specifically filter 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft models, especially as Max 8 aircraft are still in flight.” » These filters help “provide travelers with all the information they need to make smart decisions and travel with confidence,” the company explains.

Boeing 737 MAX 9 is owned by several airlines such as Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ryanair and Icelandair.

Airplanes are grounded

Boeing has been in turmoil since the door opened on an Alaska Airlines plane. The US Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA) announced in mid-January that all 737 MAX 9 aircraft will have to remain grounded until their manufacturer Boeing provides more data about the incident. The FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched an investigation. The FAA is specifically investigating a possible failure in quality control on the part of the aircraft manufacturer. Hundreds of flights had to be cancelled.

However, airlines have been advised to inspect clogged doors on their Boeing 737-900ER aircraft to ensure there are no defects. Boeing shares fell to their lowest level in two months last Tuesday as increased scrutiny following the exit could have a major impact on its financial performance.

The Boeing 737 MAX has already been involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019. To make matters worse, another model, a Boeing 747 freighter from the American airline Atlas Air, made an emergency landing late Thursday evening in Miami (southeastern United States). USA) after one of the engines malfunctioned shortly after takeoff. The investigation is ongoing.