Even after Boeing’s beleaguered Boeing 737 Max jets return to the skies, some Stephen Brashearwary passengers won’t be expected to board them—at least if they’re flying United Airlines.
The policy is not new but reiterated this week by a United Airlines executive during an investor conference. CNN on Wednesday cited Boeing’s chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella as saying that if a United passenger arrives at a boarding gate “and it’s not an airplane you want to fly on for whatever reason, if it’s a Max, we’ll put you on another flight.”
United Airlines currently has 14 Max aircraft in its fleet. A spokesperson for the airline told Gizmodo by email that United Airlines will work with customers on rebooking their flight if customers don’t want to fly on a Max, but noted that it will work to inform customers ahead of their trip if they will be flying on one of the jets.
A Southwest Airlines spokesperson confirmed to Gizmodo that after the Boeing aircraft are again cleared for commercial use, the carrier will also offer customers “flexibility to change their itinerary” if they do not feel comfortable flying on a Max jet. A spokesperson for American Airlines, which along with Southwest Airlines also has Max jets in its fleet, told Gizmodo in a statement by email that it has not made any official policy announcement for when the jets return to service.
https://gizmodo.com/united-and-southwest-will-allow-passengers-to-opt-out-o-1837912072