Innovative booking tool allows travelers to avoid flying on ‘terrifying’ 737 MAX planes: ‘If it’s Boeing, I’m not going’

Ben Cost
·2 min read
20

It’s a travel by-pass.

Flying on a Boeing 737 MAX might seem like playing Russian Roulette at 30,000 feet in light of recent incidents — but enterprising tech-heads have devised a special way for freaked-out fliers to avoid the aircraft model altogether.

A booking platform named “Alternative Airlines” allows travelers to look for routes and carriers that do not use the troubled planes.

“Y’all, there’s a website called ‘Alternative Airlines’ where you can specifically search for flights with airlines that do NOT use [the] #Boeing aircraft,” one fan exclaimed in a tweet that garnered thousands of likes.

The news prompted excitement from other pundits, with one declaring: “If it’s Boeing, I’m not going.”

A second claimed that recent issues involving the planes now meant “Boeing was getting terrifying.”

For the uninitiated, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 is currently under federal investigation after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight mid-air in January, forcing an emergency landing.

“At Alternative Airlines, we make it easy to see which type of plane is being used for each flight when you’re buying your flight,” a description on the website reads. “This means that you can easily avoid any flight that is being operated with the Boeing 737 MAX.”

To use the site, travelers simply search for flights using their search form, whereupon they’ll get to see flights from every airline airline available for the trip in question.

A booking platform named “Alternative Airlines” allows travelers to look for routes and carriers that do not use the troubled planes. Alternative Flights
A booking platform named “Alternative Airlines” allows travelers to look for routes and carriers that do not use the troubled planes. Alternative Flights
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 with its missing door is pictured after an emergency landing. AFP via Getty Images
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 with its missing door is pictured after an emergency landing. AFP via Getty Images

Clicking on the “details” button pulls up the flight information, including what type of plane will be used. That way, travelers can book their trip with “peace of mind.”

Best of all, the compendium of airlines that have alternative options to the Boeing 737 MAX is organized by country and continent.

For instance, Allegiant Air, Delta, Frontier Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines and Sun Country Airlines all operate flights that don’t use the model.

The Boeing 737 MAX 9 is currently under federal investigation after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight mid-air in January, forcing an emergency landing. AP
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 is currently under federal investigation after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight mid-air in January, forcing an emergency landing. AP

The list perhaps presents a breath of fresh air given the rash of mile-high mishaps that have plagued Boeing of late.

In the latest incident last night, a Boeing plane operated by American Airlines had to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport over a “possible mechanical issue.”