By Eric Hanson
Foreign Bureau
Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun revealed that he will step down from his role at the end of 2024, the aircraft manufacturer announced Monday.
In addition to Calhoun's exit, Board Chair Larry Kellner said he will not stand for re-election at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting, prompting the board to elect Steve Mollenkopf to succeed Kellner as independent board chair.
Mollenkopf will lead the board's process of selecting Boeing's next CEO.
Meanwhile, Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) President and CEO, is also out amid the massive shake-up. Deal will retire from the company and be replaced by Stephanie Pope, who will lead BCA starting Monday.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve Boeing," Calhoun said in a letter to employees. "The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company. We will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do."
"As we begin this period of transition, I want to assure you, we will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do," Calhoun added.
The leadership changes come just one month after Boeing removed the head of its 737 Max program, Ed Clark, replacing him with former Vice President, 737 Delivery Operations, Katie Ringgold. "Our customers demand, and deserve, nothing less," Deal said at the time.
It's been a tumultuous few months for Boeing in the wake of a door panel blowing out of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight in early January. The incident put a spotlight on the company that's revealed disturbing quality control issues that have delayed production and prompted investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies.
Recently, airline executives have sought to meet with Boeing as some passengers are seeking out alternative aircraft and officials work to reassure the flying public that air travel is still safe.
By Suzanne Edgewater
West Coast Bureau
Carl Icahn is already making his presence felt at JetBlue Airways.
The activist investor, who took a nearly 10 percent stake in the airline just days ago, has secured two seats on JetBlue's Board of Directors for his company.
esse Lynn, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steven Miller, portfolio manager of Icahn Capital, will join its board, JetBlue said on Friday.
Lynn and Miller will serve as non-voting observers to the board through JetBlue’s annual meeting of stockholders this spring, after which time they will join the board as full voting members.
"We appreciate the constructive engagement we have had with JetBlue's board and leadership team," Icahn said in a statement.
JetBlue said the Icahn Group has agreed not to engage in a proxy fight.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Icahn Enterprises," JetBlue board chair Peter Boneparth said. "Our board and leadership team are focusing our full attention on taking aggressive action to return to profitability and strengthen JetBlue's foundation for the future.
"We welcome Jesse and Steven to the board," Boneparth continued. "With their experience on public company boards, often when navigating key inflection points, they will add useful insights as we set JetBlue on a path back to long-term sustainable growth and shareholder value creation."
JetBlue has lost money in its shares for the last couple of years and, earlier in January, was blocked by a federal judge from merging with Spirit Airlines.
"We are already taking action to restore our historical earnings power," JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said. "We are executing more than $300 million of revenue initiatives this year, and are on track to deliver significant cost savings from our structural cost program, fleet modernization, and fixed cost base reductions."
"Building on our distinct brand and unique value proposition, we are focused on delivering value to our shareholders and all of our stakeholders, and we welcome the contributions of our new board members as we move forward with that common goal," Geraghty continued.
Since 2018, JetBlue has refreshed more than half of its executive board and added eight new independent directors, including the appointments announced of Lynn and Miller.
Still, It will be interesting to see how much power the noted investor wields.
By Suzanne Edgewater
A recent spate of issues involving United Airlines has resulted in greater scrutiny and oversight from federal regulators.
Those issues include a piece of the outer fuselage falling off one jet, an engine fire, a plane skidding off the runway and a plane losing a tire during takeoff. All of that, in addition to other problems, happened within one week earlier this month.
United's vice president of corporate safety, Sasha Johnson, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will examine "multiple areas of our operation."
"Over the next several weeks, we will begin to see more of an FAA presence in our operation as they begin to review some of our work processes, manuals and facilities," she said in a note to employees. "We welcome their engagement and are very open to hear from them about what they find and their perspective on things we may need to change to make us even safer."
United is also a big customer of airplane manufacturer Boeing, which has been under its own scrutiny and investigation from government regulators since the January 5 incident in which a door panel fell off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight.
The FAA said it "routinely monitors all aspects of an airline's operation."
In a statement, an agency spokesperson said FAA oversight "focuses on an airline's compliance with applicable regulations; ability to identify hazards, assess and mitigate risk; and effectively manage safety."
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said he spoke with United CEO Scott Kirby about the problems. Kirby said the issues are not a pattern and have been unrelated to each other.perspective on things we may need to change to make us even safer."
By Carla Martilotti
Foreign Bureau
One hurdle has been cleared in Hawaiian Airlines’ attempt to merge with Alaska Airlines.
And that is approval from its own stockholders.
The approval is just the first step for Hawaiian Airlines to be acquired by Alaska. The rest is up to the United States Department of Justice and other government regulatory agencies.
And we all saw what happened when JetBlue Airways tried to acquire Spirit Airlines.
A substantial majority of the holders of Hawaiian’s stock voted in favor of the merger, according to preliminary results from a special meeting. Hawaiian will file the final voting results, as tabulated by an independent inspector of elections, on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Stockholder approval of our transaction with Alaska is an important milestone toward combining our airlines,” said Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram. “Together, we will bring stronger competition to the U.S. airline industry, deliver more value to our guests and the communities that we serve, and provide greater job opportunities for our employees.”
There is still a way to go, however.
Hawaiian and Alaska expect to complete the transaction within 12 to 18 months of the announcement of the transaction, which occurred on December 3, 2023.
Still, this was an essential step, as one Hawaiian Airlines investor had filed a lawsuit to block the deal.
By Eric Hanson
Foreign Bureau
Usually, airplanes are grounded for mechanical and safety reasons.
This time, United Airlines has temporarily grounded its entire fleet of A321neo airplanes because of an old signage issue.
A U.S. law from 1990 requires the ‘No Smoking’ sign on planes to be operated by the flight crew, but on this particular airplane model, the sign is automatic.
The airplane is relatively new, but you can imagine the trepidation of some who are probably wondering how old the plane is when that sign comes on. Smoking has been banned on airlines in the United States for the better part of the last 30 years.
In fact, the software keeps the sign lit continuously.
United had requested an exemption from operating the “No Smoking” sign, but that was four years ago and did not cover the A321neo. Of course, planes have been grounded for much more severe issues, but a law is a law.
There are only five such airplanes in United's fleet, and United has requested that they be added to their existing exemption.
"As the FAA noted, this is not a safety of flight issue," a United spokesperson said. "Our five A321neos were briefly out of service on Monday while we worked through this issue with the FAA, resulting in a handful of delays but no cancellations as we swapped that flying to other aircraft types in an effort to minimize disruption for our customers."
By Michael Sinclair
Foreign Bureau
Was it a crime?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the January 5 incident in which a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane manufactured by Boeing mid-flight.
The FBI joins other government agencies such as the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration in looking into the mishap. The FBI has told passengers on the ill-fated flight that they might be victims of a crime.
“I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office wrote in a letter that passengers received this week. “This case is currently under investigation by the FBI."
Not that the other government agencies investigating the incident don’t have any power, but getting a letter from the FBI can be an especially unnerving experience.
At issue is whether the screws that held the door panel in place were missing, an oversight by Boeing, or deliberate. The pilots were still able to land the plane safely and there were no injuries, but there has been several lawsuits.
Boeing declined comment and Alaska Airlines said it does not believe it is the subject or focus of the FBI investigation. The Department of Justice is also conducting a criminal investigation.
Mark Lindquist, a lawyer representing some of the passengers, shared the FBI letter with The Associated Press.
“A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and, for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at this time. A victim of a federal crime is entitled to receive certain services,” the letter stated.
The FBI letter did not name Boeing.
By Steve Fortz
West Coast Bureau
The Eiffel Tower remains closed to visitors due to a worker strike this week.
The popular Paris landmark has posted soaring visitor numbers in the lead-up to the Summer Olympics, according to the Associated Press. However, the most recent visitors to the 1,083-foot tower have been turned away.
"Due to a strike action of a part of the Eiffel Tower personnel, the Eiffel Tower is currently closed. Visitors with e-tickets for today are invited to check their email. We apologize for the inconvenience," the tower's official website confirmed on Wednesday.
"Due to a renewable strike notice, the opening of the Eiffel Tower could be disrupted on February 22. Check the website before traveling," the statement concludes.
There's currently no clear timetable on when the tower might reopen so travelers should continue to monitor the website for updates.
Photo: Adobe Stock
By Jane Pearson
East Coast Bureau
The Senate Commerce Committee recently passed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, a measure that includes several provisions to strengthen the U.S. air system.
Most notably, the five-year reauthorization bill, which will next move to a vote by the full Senate, includes increases to the number of FAA safety inspectors and air traffic controllers–provisions that are meant to help address the severe staffing challenges plaguing airline transportation in the United States.
As currently written, the bill also steps up staffing for FAA oversight of foreign repair stations. It also sets refund standards for non-refundable airline tickets, includes protection of airline vouchers for five years, and prohibits carriers from charging fees for family seating on planes. The legislation would also triple fines for airline consumer violations.
"This bipartisan bill delivers improvements to aviation safety and consumer protections that Americans have been demanding,” Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the committee, said in a Feb. 8 statement. “The bill will put more FAA safety inspectors on factory floors and more air traffic controllers in towers.
The FAA requires routine reauthorization by elected officials through the reauthorization act. The process provides opportunities to revisit funding decisions, projects, and research initiatives, according to the Consumer Federation of America. The last FAA reauthorization took place in 2018 and expired in 2023.
In December, the Senate passed a temporary funding extension for the FAA through March 8. The means Congress has until that date to complete work on the FAA bill or pass yet another extension. The House passed its own version of the bill back in July.
By John Stutz
East Coast Bureau
Delta Air Lines is stepping up its investment in leisure transcontinental flight routes.
The Atlanta-based airline announced a variety of new flights on Friday, including several to Hawaii. The increased leisure flight roster will also include a new route from Seattle to Miami.
Delta Senior Vice President of Network Planning, Joe Esposito, said the new routes are part of a decade-long effort focused on “refining” the airline’s footprint to match increased demand.
The carrier will offer a whopping 22 daily non-stop flights next winter to Hawaii. That figure includes new daily, seasonal non-stop service between Boston and Honolulu that’s slated to begin November 21 and run through April 30.
Delta also announced a second daily flight from Salt Lake City to Honolulu as of November 6. The Salt Lake City route will run through March 29. And for those in Seattle, there will be a third daily flight from the city to Honolulu added to the Delta flight lineup. That route kicks off on December 21 and will be available until March 20.
In still more Hawaii-bound news, Delta is set to become the sole carrier to serve Maui from the East Coast of the United States. On November 21, the airline will resume service from Atlanta to Maui, a route that will be available until March 29.
All of the new route announcements mean Delta will service four Hawaiian destinations from eight U.S. origination points.
As for Miami, starting next winter, Delta will offer 38 peak-day departures to 13 destinations from Miami, including kicking off a daily, year-round route to Seattle on December 21.
Many of the new flight routes will be serviced by Boeing 767-300ER and the Airbus A321neo. The Airbus A321neo is among the Delta planes that have new first-class seating available.
By Suze Miller
West Coast Bureau
As the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, leisure travel was much faster to recover than business travel.
With remote work suddenly being the norm and many companies hesitant to put employees on a plane for travel that wasn’t absolutely essential, business related trips plummeted in 2020 and 2021. Come 2022 however, the corporate travel industry began to recover. But then it was hit with another challenge—amid a softening economy, many businesses tightened their belts and held off on a great deal of travel, yet again.
Now, a new report from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is projecting that the business travel industry will actually surpass 2019 levels of travel in 2024. That’s two years sooner than the organization had previously forecast. The projection was made in the GBTA’s latest Business Travel Index Outlook report, which was published at the organization’s yearly convention today.
Specific details in the report show:
Having “rebounded at a more accelerated rate than expected just a year ago,” business travel spend is now anticipated to approach a staggering $1.4 trillion in 2024. And by 2027, that figure will approach $1.8 trillion, the publication BTN—Business Travel News reported.
These figures are a marked departure from last year’s GBTA report. At that point the organization said inflation and supply chain challenges were impacting real recovery of the business travel sector and the expectation was that it would take until 2026 before meaningful improvement would be achieved.
So what’s caused the shift in fortunes?
The organization’s report attributes the strong turnaround in business travel to pent-up demand, more favorable economic conditions worldwide, and receding fears about a recession.
“The headwinds that were anticipated to impact the rebound of global business travel over the past year didn’t materialize and that is good news,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang. “This latest forecast now indicates an accelerated return to pre-pandemic spending levels sooner than anticipated as well as growth ahead in the coming years. Business travel spending is a key indicator, but how travel volumes will continue to rebound is yet to be seen.”
Still, it may not all be smooth sailing moving forward. Issues remain that could dampen future growth. This includes a growing focus globally on sustainability and increasing use of virtual meeting platforms. And remote work continues to be a factor impacting the need for business travel, said Neufang.
Additional highlights of the report include:
By Richard Alexander
West Coast Bureau
The ongoing Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted another cruise: Royal Caribbean International’s viral 9-month world voyage.
Serenade of the Seas was scheduled to sail through the Suez Canal in May. But, instead, passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise will get to choose an alternate route.
Royal Caribbean is giving travelers the chance to vote on two possible options, reports USA Today.
“In keeping with the adventurous spirit of our guests, we are engaging them for their thoughts and preference between two alternative itineraries that will take them on an epic adventure to Africa,” according to a Royal Caribbean statement shared with USA Today. “They will receive compensation for the adjustment, and guests who prefer to not sail on the updated itinerary will receive a full refund and support for their travel arrangements.”
Other cruise lines have adjusted their plans as well. Last week, Crystal Cruises canceled a voyage aboard the Crystal Symphony that was set to depart March 27 and would have sailed from Mumbai to Athens; the line also rerouted part of its 126-day world cruise away from the Red Sea.
MSC Cruises, Carnival Corporation, Silversea Cruises and several other lines have also adjusted their itineraries because of the ongoing attacks.
The Houthis, an Iranian-backed political and military group, have been firing missiles at commercial and naval vessels amid the Israel-Hamas conflict since mid-November.
By Eric Hanson
Foreign Bureau
One of the most helpless and scary feelings in the world is to think you are trapped with no way out.
That’s what it must have been like when a Carnival Cruise Line ship caught fire.
The funnel on the Carnival Freedom was ablaze on Saturday afternoon near the Bahamas. The ship departed from Port Canaveral, Florida.
In a statement from Carnival, the team said, “The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames. Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike and that is being investigated but cannot yet be confirmed.”
Part of the funnel collapsed and fell onto one of the decks.
Firefighters were able to control the blaze in about two hours and there were no reported major injuries. There were some changes to the itinerary, however, because of the fire and weather. Two crew members did have to be treated for smoke inhalation.
“I thought they (fellow passengers) were giving me a hard time but I got up and went out on the balcony and sure enough the flames and smoke was pouring out of the tail,” passenger Heath Barnes said. “Definitely an exciting day.”
The ship was able to continue its journey to the Bahamas. It is also expected to embark on its next short cruise on Monday.
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time that Carnival Freedom has caught on fire. A similar incident happened almost two years ago.
By Carla Martilotti
Foreign Bureau
New data showed that travel agencies in the United States set a new record in January for air ticket sales.
According to the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), U.S. travel agencies earned $8.9 billion on air ticket sales last month, marking a seven percent increase from January 2023 and the highest January total recorded by ARC.
Total passenger trips reached 25.6 million, a massive 52 percent increase month-over-month and a seven percent jump from the same month in 2023. Domestic trips topped 15.9 million, and international trips totaled 9.7 million.
“January’s results represent a promising start to air travel in 2024 as we approach the first busy travel period,” ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said. “We are already seeing a spike in ticket transactions to popular spring break destinations like Cancun, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.”
“Business travel also had a solid month with corporate travel agency settled trips increasing seven percent year over year,” Solomon continued.
Average ticket prices for the first month of 2024 were $546, a one percent increase from December and a three percent jump from January 2023.
January ancillary sales increased 37 percent year-over-year to $27.9 million, while ancillary transactions increased 39 percent to 462,856 over the same period.
By Alex Johnson
West Coast Bureau
This might be just as bad as snakes on a plane.
Maggots.
The difference is that 'Snakes on a Plane' was a bad movie, although it produced one great signature line from Samuel L. Jackson. If you don't know it, you'll have to look it up since it can't be repeated here. Or written, for that matter.
But the fact remains that a Delta Air Lines flight earlier this week en route to Detroit from Amsterdam had to turn around and return to its original point at Schiphol Airport after maggots fell on a passenger from an overhead bin.
A Detroit television station interviewed Philip Schotte, who said he saw about a dozen maggots on a woman sitting next to him.
"She was freaking out," Schotte told the station. "She was just trying to kind of fight off these maggots. I don't really know what was going through my mind."
"I was trying to process it – disgust is one thing of course," Schotte continued. "We had to wait there for help to actually come."
There is no word on whether either passenger uttered the now famous line with one substitution.
Schotte said the flight crew eventually traced the maggots to a passenger's bag containing rotten fish wrapped in newspaper. Many passengers, including Schotte, took new flights and planes to the United States.
Flight tracking website FlightAware shows that the airplane spent less than two hours in the air.
Delta confirmed that the flight turned around but said nothing about maggots.
"We apologize to the customers of Flight 133 AMS-DTW as their trip was interrupted due to an improperly packed carry-on bag," a Delta spokesperson said.
"The aircraft returned to the gate, and passengers were placed on the next available flight," the statement continued. "The aircraft was removed from service for cleaning."
By Carla Martilotti
Foreign Bureau
If you ever gazed longingly at an empty seat on an airplane that you really wanted to sit in, United Airlines has a solution for you.
United has introduced a new feature on its mobile application that will notify passengers if their preferred seat becomes available.
Now fliers will be able to sign up for seat notifications and be automatically moved if their preferred seat is not available at the time of booking. The app is perfect for passengers who want to move from back to front, or vice versa, and not engage in what could become a hassle with a gate agent or flight attendant.
It is also convenient for those who get stuck in a middle seat and would like the opportunity to change to a window or aisle.
Just look for any open seat or your preferred seed on the plane while looking at the seat map on the mobile app. If a new seat is available, the app will automatically reassign your seat and notify you that it processed the seat change.
You will receive an alert of a new seat three days before your flight leaves. United is generally regarded as having one of the best apps in the aviation industry.
United is believed to be the only airline to offer this feature so far, although there are third-party online applications that offer the same service.
By Glenn Tune
West Coast Bureau
New York City wants its business back.
Or, more specifically, it wants its business travel back. So to that end, officials are embarking on road trips to try and convince people that the financial, business and media capital of the world is still open.
Or reopened, as the case may be.
Tourism officials from New York City Tourism + Conventions, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, are visiting various countries and tourism conventions to push business travel.
That is especially important since the fall has been historically considered a peak business travel period for the city. New York City expects to attract 12.1 million business travelers this fall, about three million more than last year. New York City is literally marketing itself all over again to various entities. For instance, NYC Tourism + Conventions President and CEO Fred Dixon made a September 28 pitch to attendees at a tourism convention at the Javits Center.
“Business travel is essential to New York City’s full tourism recovery, historically accounting for 20 percent of visitation and 30 percent of spending,” said Dixon in a statement. “As we continue our efforts to engage business professionals across the globe through sales missions, conferences and major events, we’re seeing considerable growth among the business travel segment, a significant component of NYC’s tourism economy.”
“There is no city like New York City, and we’re proud to be the destination for so many large scale events from across the globe,” added New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a statement. “These large events are vital to our city’s continued economic growth, and there’s truly no place to host an event as vibrant, diverse, or appealing as New York City, so I invite all professionals to book their many unique events at spaces across the five boroughs. I just have one request for our visitors: spend money.”
By visiting numerous countries, including in Europe and Latin America, and attending conventions and conferences around the world, New York City is taking an aggressive approach to try and bring back business travel after it suffered through the pandemic.
“Hosting global sales missions and participating in major events such as IMEX America—our largest attended trade show as an organization—continues to support our goal of bringing more meetings, conventions and incentives to New York City,” said Jerry Cito, EVP, Convention Development at New York City Tourism + Conventions.
“NYC offers a multitude of experiences for business event professionals, leading to higher-than-average attendance for events that select NYC.”
By Cedric Johnson
West Coast Bureau
For the first time in its 57-year history, Southwest Airlines is now planning to operate overnight flights, the first being from Las Vegas and Hawaii . While no formal date has been set for the launch of these late-night departures,.Southwest’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ryan Green, stated at the Routes Americas 2024 air travel conference earlier this week that the carrier is aiming to start them in around two years’ time, after working out some logistical details.
Overnight flights are commonly called “Red-eye flights”, describing the appearance of passengers’ eyes after a missed night’s sleep, and are offered by most major airlines, with Southwest being a conspicuous exception. They’re attractive to many travelers, as they often come at lower fare prices than their daytime counterparts, and allow West Coasters to leave after work hours and still arrive on the East Coast in time for morning meetings. And, they’re beneficial for airlines, which can generate more revenue by keeping planes in service during the hours they’d otherwise be sitting idle on a tarmac.
According to The Washington Post, Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport sees at least 26 overnight flights departing after 9:00 p.m. on nearly every U.S. airline that operates in Sin City on a random Thursday night this month. Such flights are typically more than four hours long and connect Las Vegas with such major metropolises as Atlanta, Boston, New York and Washington D.C.
While Southwest Airlines has built a reputation for its unique approach to air travel, including all-economy unassigned seating and complimentary checked bags, the introduction of red-eye flights represents a significant milestone in its evolution as an airline.
One thing Southwest is not known for is its technological prowess or being on the cutting edge of aviation operations. After all, the massive Southwest holiday meltdown of 2022 was ultimately attributed to its antiquated IT infrastructure, which meant that disrupted flights had to be reassigned manually and the airline simply couldn’t keep up with all the delays and cancellations caused by extreme winter weather conditions.
Prior to 2014, Southwest’s reservations system was too limited to offer customers anything beyond daytime flights within the U.S. But, a decade ago, it adopted a more modern system from aviation IT provider Amadeus, which enabled it to start flying internationally. Overnight flights first became possible once the new platform was fully integrated in 2017, but the airline didn’t begin offering flights with overnight connections until last July.
Green disclosed that he believes there’s a potential for Southwest to run approximately 50 red-eye flights per day. With operating costs up due to ongoing inflation and new labor agreements, Green said, “We have to be maniacally focused on being efficient,” adding that Southwest aims to grow, but without “adding to the cost structure”.
The addition of overnight flights fits the bill, according to airline analyst Savanthi Syth, who explained that adding red-eye flights will enable the carrier to expand without the expense of purchasing new planes. “In the Hawaii-mainland U.S. market, red-eye flight capabilities should enable more connections or just a better schedule than Southwest can offer today,” she said.
By James Vital
East Coast Bureau
They are creating their own no-fly zone. According to NBC News, some air passengers are simply avoiding Boeing-manufactured planes.
With the problems that Boeing has had in recent months, including the January 5 incident in which a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane and subsequent reports that the company is lax when it comes to safety protocols, some potential air travelers are even rebooking flights just to avoid flying on a Boeing jet.
That is especially true of people who already have a fear of flying.
“I just can’t step on that plane,” said Leila Amineddoleh, an art lawyer who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. “Even if the chance of getting hurt on a Boeing flight, even with all these incidents, is slim.”
And that creates a cascading effect in which the airplane manufacturer is losing money, and so are the airlines and its contractors and so on. Like Amineddoleh, some passengers are taking the personal precautionary measure of stepping on a non-Boeing plane.
Which usually means switching to an airline that utilizes planes from Airbus, Boeing's main competitor. Even if it means it is more inconvenient and costlier.
“It’s an inconvenience,” she said, especially because she and her husband are traveling with their young daughter. “But I’m not going to feel guilty, because I think her safety is more important than fatigue.”
And it isn’t just the door panel issue. Boeing planes have experienced several other problems, including a plane that literally lost a tire upon takeoff. Those issues have made the fear of flying real and filled with trepidation among some folks. Adding to the fear has been federal scrutiny of the safety culture at Boeing, along with the apparent suicide of a Boeing whistleblower.
Boeing declined to comment. Others did not.
“The good side is consumers are becoming more informed,” said Ed Pierson, a former senior manager at Boeing’s 737 factory who is now executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group The Foundation for Aviation Safety. “But here’s the sad part: You shouldn’t have to be dealing with this.”
Travel search engine Kayak, which offers the option to include or exclude certain plane models from flight searches, said there has been a spike in people seeking information about types of aircraft. Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said in a statement that the use of the plane selection filter is 10 times higher than it was in December.
As much as 40 percent of people say they already have anxiety about flying.
Amineddoleh said she hopes the fear of flying Boeing will soon dissipate.
“I really do hope that things change at Boeing, in part because it really makes my life easier,” she said. “When I fly to Europe, I always take direct flights. It’s the first time in years that I haven’t.”