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Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

hbridges
Explorer C

using abundance of caution, since no one knows, China and others, why not SouthWest and our governmental department

 

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

dfwskier
Aviator A

@hbridges wrote:

using abundance of caution, since no one knows, China and others, why not SouthWest and our governmental department

 


Maybe because no one knows whether or not the two events are related. Maybe because there is an easy remedy to the alleged problem faced in Indonesia. Maybe because there have been no pilot reports of problems in Europe, the US or Canada -- all of which have refused to ground the aircraft.

 

Here's what the FAA has to say:

 

 https://mobile.twitter.com/FAANews/status/1105192183244750849

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@hbridges wrote:

using abundance of caution, since no one knows, China and others, why not SouthWest and our governmental department

 


Because air carriers don't operate under an "abundance of caution."

 

There is risk inherent in air travel (as with all transportation) and potential danger is balanced against cost. Carriers pay Risk Managers large sums of money to calculate "what if" scenarios that factor into corporate decisions every day. Remember that air travel is very safe -- much safer for example than travel by car. But it's not 100% safe, and despite statements otherwise, safety is absolutely not any carrier's "number one priority." If it was they wouldn't be in business, as 100% safety isn't attainable. Their first priority is to operate a successful company and return profits to shareholders, and they try to do that as safely as possible. But when there's a conflict between safety and cost, cost often wins if the risk is deemed acceptable.

 

If people weren't willing to accept risk we wouldn't have cars, much less air travel.

 

While the cost to Southwest in grounding their MAX aircraft would be relatively low (the planes comprise a very small portion of the fleet), as one of Boeing's largest customers, they're just not going to do so. It would be politically disadvantageous. I also suspect that the current operational issues resulting from the labor dispute with their mechanics are a factor in any decisions to take even more planes out of service. So their position isn't surprising.

 

As more info comes out it may well become clear that the cause of this crash is unrelated to the causes of the LionAir one. The FAA says that currently the 737-MAX8 remains airworthy, and they have access to info we don't. (To be fair, politically it would be shocking if the FAA did ground them, given the closeness of operation between the FAA and US aircraft manufacturers.) And China's grounding is much more about trade relationships with the US (especially under the current administration) than with safety concerns.

 

I am seeing reports that Southwest is working with customers who would rather not fly aboard a 737-MAX8 right now, so if you have concerns about a particular upcoming flight I'd recommend reaching out to Customer Relations at the number under Contact Us below.

 

 

 

 

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

mtazcardoso
Explorer C

Maybe Southwest and other Amerian airlines companies are waiting for a domestic disaster to happen in order to ground those 737 8 Max. 

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

Mcgr53
Explorer B

Easy to check the kind of plane. 

For passengers, there are three fairly simple ways to know if you're booked to fly on a 737 MAX 8. 

1. Check your airline site or app. Clicking on the flight number will show you what type of airplane is assigned to the flight. 

2. Check the registration of the airplane on the FAA site. Before you board, note the registration number which is clearly marked on the side of the plane. Plug that number into the FAA registration data base here. 

3. Aviation apps such as FlightRadar24 make it easy to see the type of airplane on which you're scheduled to fly. Look up your flight number or use the app filter function to track all 737 MAX 8s and any other aircraft

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

kaliuma
Explorer C

Go to southwest.com, do a search for your flight (as if you are booking it for the first time). When the search results come up, click on the flight number and it will give you details of the plane, including the model. 

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

tyenshee
Explorer C

I agree with the comment that it should be a global coordinated effort to ground these plans until the real reason is brought to light for both tragedies. Even if it turns out it wasn't an issue with the plane, it would signal to customers that the company cares about the emotional wellbeing of anxious flyers. 

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

dfwskier
Aviator A

@tyenshee wrote:

I agree with the comment that it should be a global coordinated effort to ground these plans until the real reason is brought to light for both tragedies. Even if it turns out it wasn't an issue with the plane, it would signal to customers that the company cares about the emotional wellbeing of anxious flyers. 


The company HAS shown it cares about the emotional well being of anxious flyers by allowing those flyers to change their reservations. Don't want to fly on a Max8? OK, change AT NO ADDITIONAL COST to a different plane and flight.

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

@tyenshee wrote:

I agree with the comment that it should be a global coordinated effort to ground these plans until the real reason is brought to light for both tragedies. Even if it turns out it wasn't an issue with the plane, it would signal to customers that the company cares about the emotional wellbeing of anxious flyers. 


The company HAS shown it cares about the emotional well being of anxious flyers by allowing those flyers to change their reservations. Don't want to fly on a Max8? OK, change AT NO ADDITIONAL COST to a different plane and flight.


 

Is there anything official announcing this?

Re: Your failure to act on the Boeing 737 8 MAX

dfwskier
Aviator A

@chgoflyer wrote:

@dfwskier wrote:

@tyenshee wrote:

I agree with the comment that it should be a global coordinated effort to ground these plans until the real reason is brought to light for both tragedies. Even if it turns out it wasn't an issue with the plane, it would signal to customers that the company cares about the emotional wellbeing of anxious flyers. 


The company HAS shown it cares about the emotional well being of anxious flyers by allowing those flyers to change their reservations. Don't want to fly on a Max8? OK, change AT NO ADDITIONAL COST to a different plane and flight.


 

Is there anything official announcing this?


I looked at each of the four flights I have scheduled and could change every one of them to any date within two weeks of the scheduled departure date-- regardless of aircraft type 700, 800 or Max8.