Airlines and Flyers Are Stuck With 737 Max, Like It or Not
Boeing rival Airbus is sold out of its competing A320 narrow-body planes into the 2030s, and no new aircraft design is expected until then, either.
Grounded for now.
Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg
When an airplane model that has already suffered two fatal crashes, required multiple fixes and been grounded for almost two years then has a hole blow open in midair, sucking out people’s belongings and turning their flying experience into a harrowing microburst of gushing wind, the obvious question for the casual flyer is why on earth airlines are still asking them to buy tickets to board this jet.
I received multiple questions along these lines after an unused exit door that was meant to be sealed shut on a Boeing Co. 737 Max-9 plane flown by Alaska Airlines instead ended up in a school teacher’s backyard, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ground the aircraft variant on Saturday and require immediate inspections of about 171 jets.