If you can’t imagine flying again on the Boeing model that was grounded following two deadly crashes that killed all on board in a span of five months, you’re not alone. A poll by SmarterTravel’s sister site Airfarewatchdog recently found that 73 percent of respondents would not want to travel on the model. Our own survey of a smaller group found more of the same. So where do travelers go from here?
Experts say that when the 737 MAX models are cleared to fly again, likely after a software fix and new pilot trainings, they will be considered as safe as any other modern airplane. That’s the key take-away for air travelers.
Related:U.S. Emergency Order Grounds Boeing 737 MAX 8 Planes
Before the plane flies again, however, some combination of Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Board, and France’s Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) will have determined whatever combination of mechanical, software, documentation, regulatory, and pilot training fixes is necessary to prevent any recurrence of whatever brought down Lion Air and Ethiopian. And since the initial October crash of the Lion Air 737 MAX 8 is still under investigation, it’s safe to assume that reintroducing the model could take some significant time.
That’s how the modern air safety system works. It’s designed to make sure that except for outright pilot error, all serious crashes are one-off occurrences. Investigators sort through the evidence, determine the cause(s), and make changes necessary to prevent a recurrence. At this writing, the exact causes of both crashes have yet to be officially identified—it’s not yet even clear how closely related both crashes were. And from what is known so far, the crashes were probably not due to a single failure. Instead, both probably resulted from an unanticipated convergence of deficiencies—none major enough to cause a crash alone but which, in combination, were deadly. Regardless, investigators will figure it out, and the 737 MAX will not fly again until fixes are in place. Boeing is currently saying it will have a fix in a few weeks. Maybe, but regardless of how long it takes, the plane will be fixed before it flies.
Related:After Crashes, a Boeing 737 MAX Fix Isn’t Coming Quickly Did the FAA Let Boeing Put Profit Over Safety?
Consequences of the 737 MAX story will continue long after the planes return to the air. Among the key story lines are these concerns about Boeing, the FAA, and airlines in the U.S., which were some of the last to ground the model.
Related:Return of Troubled Boeing 737 MAX Planes Will Come in Phases
Boeing’s Complicity: Did Boeing understate the extent to which the MAX versions were completely new planes,
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Chances are if you frequent airport lounges, you’re a Priority Pass member. Membership can be purchased outright or included as a complimentary benefit under specific credit cards and provides access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide, across 148 countries in over 600 cities. With Priority Pass membership, travelers can enter lounges in the portfolio on their flight date, regardless of airline or class flown, often with two guests.
At airports around Europe, particularly those with flights to and from Istanbul, it’s not uncommon to see men, their heads freshly shaved — some wearing caps intended to cover red scabs, others wearing forehead bands to prevent postoperative swelling — and all showing the unmistakable signs of recent hair transplant operations.
Few people will have heard of Tassili N’Ajjer National Park, even though it is the largest national park in Africa—a testament to its anonymity and remoteness.
Get thee to New York's museums and get thee to them now. There's an end in sight to summer's dog days, and with the promise of cooler early-autumn days comes a fresh turnover in the exhibitions on offer throughout the city. Some of the big summer tentpoles—Africa Fashion at the Brooklyn Museum, installations at both MoMA and MoMA PS1—will run all the way into October, so if you haven't made your way to them yet, there's still time. Joining these holdovers are a myriad of newer options, the variety of which ensures that there's something for everyone. Find our guide below.
The Transportation Security Administration today announced the addition of five new airlines to its TSA PreCheck trusted-traveler program. They are Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and World Atlantic.
Donald Trump. Love him or hate him—and the U.S. election results suggest you’re as likely to do one as the other—he’s become a fact of everyday life. And not just for Americans. His election has reverberated throughout the world.
Looking for a new museum to add to your travel to-do list? TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) has released the Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Museums of 2018, including the top 10 worldwide and the top 10 in the United States, with some surprising frontrunners. The findings also highlight bookable ways to see each winner—think VIP tours and scavenger hunts—with some offering the added perk of allowing you to skip the lines to get in.
Summer, also known as high season for travel, is almost here. And according to AAA just about everyone is poised to hit the road. The organization predicts two-thirds of what it categorizes as “leisure travelers” plan to take vacations this summer, meaning millions of Americans will be hitting the road.
In the three weeks since the FAA grounded Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, we’ve learned a lot about the plane and what likely caused the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. But we’re still waiting to hear when, exactly, Boeing will have a fix for the aircraft to return to the skies.
As reported yesterday, the U.S. has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft until further notice. The move came after most major international regulatory bodies took similar action, notably in the Europe, the U.K., and Canada.
Two models of Boeing’s latest twin 737 MAX 8 jet have crashed in the last six months: An Ethiopian Airlines flight headed for Nairobi on March 8, and October’s Lion Air flight that crashed off Jakarta. Both flights went down shortly after takeoff, killing all onboard. Since Sunday’s crash over 25 airlines grounded their models of the plane. On Wednesday the Trump administration followed other governments, including those of Canada, China, Germany, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and the United Kingdom, in calling for the planes to be grounded and banned the aircraft from domestic airspace.