By Rob Waugh For Dailymail. Web
As many as 50 % of people are consciously skipping Boeing flights this summer and using online tools to do so to avoid purchasing tickets for Boeing flights.
According to many travel-related industry experts, up to half of consumers are now switching to Boeing planes in the wake of a number of safety concerns, according to Daily Mail.com.
One of the more terrible incidents involved a lock switch blowing up on an , Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 at 16, 000 foot this January.
Aaron Sutherland, chairman of traveling business Jetsetter Lifestyle, said that there has been a’ distinctive’ change in customer sentiment around Boeing aircraft.
According to Sutherland,” About 50 % of our clients have proactively requested to avoid Boeing flights for both domestic and international traveling in recent months.”
Airlines frequently switch aircraft to improve operations, but we as a travel agency ca n’t control these changes.  ,
Yet, we’ve noticed a growing trend of individuals checking the type of aircraft thoroughly before taking off.  ,
‘ If it’s a Boeing, particularly the 737 MAX, we often receive immediate demands to alter travel ideas, even at the last moment. ‘ ,
Many models of Boeing traveler jets have encounter door blowouts, middle- air engine fires.
Two accidents also killed 346 persons of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 near the town of Bishoftu.
In a sign the business is losing trust, Boeing received purchases for just four new planes in May and, for the second straight month, nothing for its best- offering 737 Max.  ,
The Federal Aviation Administration mind said in May that Boeing faces a “long route” to address security issues.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker issued a 90-day deadline in late February for Boeing to develop a detailed plan to address” structural quality-control concerns” and forbids it from increasing its 737 MAX production.
Sutherland warns that the 737 Max, which was grounded by the FAA for 20 weeks up until November 2020, is the most likely plane to cause dread among passengers because of the two high-profile collisions, which are the longest ever to ground a U.S. aircraft.
Customers are cautious in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident ( involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 ), but the aircraft was recertified by the FAA in December 2020.
Despite the series or the updated safety record, Sutherland says,” We have some clients who strongly refuse to travel on this model.”
Sutherland is CEO of Jetsetter Lifestyle, a California- based pleasure travel company that curates after- in- a- lifetime experiences.
According to Hollie Mckay, a travel expert and HotelPlanner vice president of communications, customers are using flight search tools, which may result in a cancellation of a reservation for a Boeing plane, particularly the 737 Max.
According to McKay, flight search engines like Alternative Airlines let users exclude Boeing aircraft, particularly the 737 Max, and passengers also choose companies that are known for using Airbus models instead.
McKay said: ‘ Following the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2018 and 2019, there was a significant perception among customers that Boeing planes, especially the 737 MAX model, might be dangerous.
Safety concerns increased once more as a number of Boeing mishaps, including the door blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in early January, made headlines once more this year.
Flying is already a heart-pounding experience on which the passenger has little control, and the number of Boeing incidents, which are comparatively small considering how many millions of flights are made without a hitch every day, still seem like unnecessary risks when there are other options.
McKay claims that she still regularly flys with Boeing Max aircraft and has recently flown four times with Boeings to Europe.
She stated,” I did take note of the aircraft before boarding, which I never usually do, and the thought persisted with me until we touched down.”
‘ But ultimately, flying remains by far the safest mode of transportation. This is attributable to authorities like the FAA and ICAO, which impose comprehensive safety standards.  ,
Aircraft are regularly maintained, are equipped with cutting-edge technology, and have robust designs with multiple redundancies.
In the March 2024 airworthiness directive ( AD ) proposal, the FAA warned Boeing of an’ electrostatic discharge,’ or static electricity risk, near the center- wing fuel tanks.
‘ The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in an ignition source inside the fuel tank,’ the FAA said,’ and subsequent fire or explosion.’
The FAA specifically requested that new” electrical bonding” and” grounding” be installed around an air intake system close to the 777’s center-wing fuel tanks to stop short circuiting or” electrostatic discharge”.
The warning was a common response to problems, and it does not imply that using the aircraft is dangerous.
The FAA warning and Flight SQ321 death are just two of the many controversies that are already raging among the aerospace industry’s” triple seven” aircraft.
Sam Salehpour, a whistleblower for Boeing, testified in the Senate this year in support of his claim that the company made shortcuts when building the 777.
‘ I observed Boeing workers using improper and untested methods to align parts in the 777,’ Salehpour, once a quality engineer at Boeing, told Senate investigators.
” In one instance, I even jump on some pieces of the airplane to align them.”
Justin Crabbe, the pilot and CEO of The Jettly Flight, claims that regaining customer trust will be an “uphill battle” for the business.
Customers think Boeing planes are dangerous. Even after the planes were cleared to fly, many customers still doubted their safety.
‘ People are questioning the company’s safety culture and oversight.’
