Tag Archives for boeing 737 MAX.
In the aftermath of today’s loss of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew I’m hearing from many frequent flyers wondering whether the aircraft will be grounded, and thinking about whether or not they’re willing to fly on the jet.
China reportedly is grounding the plane. Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Shandong Airlines, and XiamenAir all operate Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
American Airlines grounded 14 Boeing 737-800s. These are planes that have undergone the ‘Oasis’ modification – to replace interiors with more seats; less comfortable seats; less distance between seats; less recline; no seat back video; and smaller lavatories plus bigger overhead bins.
All of the planes were modified by the same vendor, Aviation Technical Services. There were several problems identified with some aircraft including the way that overhead bins attached to the aircraft, and how wiring was done that raises potential safety concerns.
A four month old Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX lost radar contact six minutes after departure at 8:44 a.m. local time. No survivors among the 149 passengers and 8 crew from flight ET302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi have been found.
The one you may not have heard about is that a Laser Aereo Colombia Douglas DC-3 from San Jose del Guaviare to Villavicencio with 14 passengers on board declared an emergency at 10:40 a.m. local time on Saturday, and crashed into the ground bursting into flames.
Yesterday American Airlines grounded 14 Boeing 737-800s. These are planes that have undergone the ‘Oasis’ modification – to replace interiors with more seats; less comfortable seats; less distance between seats; less recline; no seat back video; and smaller lavatories plus bigger overhead bins.
I’m now learning more about issues with the aircraft being inspected.
When I asked American Airlines whether “there[‘s] any work besides overhead bins being done,” specifically mentioning wiring, I was told “Our team is conducting a full inspection of these 14 aircraft.”
While they’re not confirming specifics, they’re also not claiming the issues are limited to overhead bins.
I’ve been a huge critic of the American Airlines “Project Oasis” to take their existing Boeing 737s and replace interiors with more seats; less comfortable seats; less distance between seats; less recline; no seat back video; and smaller lavatories (plus bigger overhead bins).
However it seems there’s now a whole new problem with this project.
Starting in May American Airlines is launching what may be the worst flight in the world, Miami to Brasilia in South America with a Boeing 737 MAX. The flight is blocked at over seven and a half hours and spans 3600 miles.
Now American Airlines is launching a domestic flight that’s nearly as rough because it takes the same product and flies it nearly as long without leaving the country.
Norwegian Air Shuttle flight DY1933 from Dubai to Oslo was flying over Shiraz, Iran at 32,000 feet on Friday when the crew received indication of low oil pressure on the number one engine, shut down the engine and burned off fuel, and diverted to Shiraz.
Norwegian sent a replacement Boeing 737-800 from Oslo to Shiraz to pick up passengers. Mechanics were also flown to Shiraz to deal with the grounded 737 MAX. However sanctions on Iran complicate the airline’s ability to source parts for the aircraft.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
