After a portion of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner’s fuselage blew out in midair Friday and caused an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding of some Max 9 planes until they are thoroughly inspected.
Hundreds of flights operated by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, which also has the Max 9 in its fleet, were delayed or canceled through the weekend. It’s unclear how the grounding and ongoing inspections will impact flights in the coming days as these and other airlines grapple with concerns over a workhorse aircraft.
The Max, which comes in four variants, numbered seven through 10, is the most popular plane in Boeing’s history, accounting for a fifth of all orders placed since 1955, company data shows.
Here’s what passengers should know about the Max 9 airplane, how airlines are responding to the grounding, and how to navigate upcoming flight delays or cancellations.
Which airlines fly the Max 9 aircraft?
About 215 Boeing Max 9 airplanes are in service globally, according to Cirium, an aviation data provider. United Airlines operates 79, the most of any airline, and Alaska has 65 — their combined fleets represent about 70% of the jets in service.
Other operators relying on the Max 9 include Panama’s Copa Airlines, Aeromexico, Turkish Airlines, FlyDubai, and Iceland Air.
The FAA grounding of the Max 9 airplanes affects 171 planes operated by Alaska, United, and other airlines.
Each Max 9 can transport as many as 220 passengers, depending on seat configuration.
Are airlines continuing to fly the Max 9?
United and Alaska have revised the statements they issued Saturday, which said that they’d cleared some of their Max 9 airplanes. Both airlines have grounded their entire 737 Max 9 fleets, to carry out the detailed inspection required by the FAA. The agency said Monday that it had provided airlines with the necessary guidelines.
How will the emergency affect passenger travel in the coming days?
Delays and cancellations continued into Monday, with Alaska Airlines canceling 143 flights, or 20% of those scheduled for the day, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service. United Airlines canceled 228 flights, about 8% of its daily schedule. Copa Airlines canceled 77 flights, or 21% of its daily schedule. And hundreds of flights operated by all three carriers were delayed.
The FAA had previously said inspections would take about four to eight hours per aircraft. Alaska Airlines has cautioned travelers that cancellations will linger through the first half of this week and encouraged passengers with upcoming flights to stay tuned for email and website updates.
United, Alaska, and Copa all said they were working with affected passengers to offer alternative travel options. Passengers, however, say they’ve encountered a litany of troubles: faulty self-service options on airline apps and websites; extremely long hold times to reach customer service by phone; automatically rebooked flights that don’t make sense; and little in the way of compensation such as lodging or free meals offered to passengers stranded at airports after sudden flight cancellations.
I’m flying in the coming days. How do I see if I am booked on a Boeing 737 Max 9?
Travelers can typically find information about their plane type when they book their flights online, either during the seat-selection process or elsewhere on the airline’s website.
Passengers may also be able to find the aircraft type on an airline’s mobile app. For Alaska, this is available in the app’s “Details” section. Flight tracking websites, such as FlightAware, also have plane information if users search for specific flights using the flight number.
However, even if passengers know in advance what plane they are scheduled to fly on, this is always subject to change. Airlines swap out aircraft at the last minute, depending on factors such as weather and logistics.
What can passengers do if they are affected by a cancellation? Can they change itineraries?
Alaska has issued a “systemwide flexible travel policy” allowing passengers scheduled to travel through Tuesday to cancel or change their flights without incurring fees, because of the Max 9 inspections and a forecast of wintry weather in the Northeast over the weekend. The airline is encouraging travelers to use the Alaska website or app themselves, rather than calling the airline’s customer service line (waits are long).
For those with upcoming flights, Alaska is directing passengers to check their flight status online. If your flight was canceled, you can get a refund or future travel credit.
United has a flight waiver allowing passengers scheduled on Max 9 flights through Wednesday, including those that aren’t yet canceled, to change or cancel their flights without incurring extra fees, if they fly before Jan. 18. Full refunds are also available. Flight status updates can be found online.
And if your flight is delayed or canceled, you may be entitled to compensation, depending on the circumstances.
What is the history of Boeing Max planes?
Boeing Max aircraft have been dogged by catastrophe in recent years. Within several months in 2018 and 2019, two Boeing Max 8 airplanes crashed, killing hundreds of passengers and crew. All Max aircraft were then grounded around the world for nearly two years, while company engineers worked to identify the problem.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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