It will be a pair of notable flights for the 737 Max, which stayed on the ground from March 2019 to November 2020, after two accidents that killed 346 people. The flights come after the US Federal Aviation Administration last month approved the changes made by Boeing to the jet.
But some American passengers are nervous: a new Reuters / Ipsos poll found that 57% of Americans surveyed said they were unlikely to fly a Boeing 737 Max when they were told about the plane’s history. About 37% say they will likely fly on it after being in the air for six months or more.
Still, the same survey showed that some people are unaware of the 737 Max’s history or have forgotten about the jet’s problems. Of the American airmen surveyed, 39% said they were familiar with Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents in October 2018 and March 2019, compared to about 50% in a previous survey.
American did not reveal how many seats it sold on Tuesday’s flights, a route at 10:32 am ET from Miami to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and a return at 2:30 pm. But by late Monday morning, the airline’s website showed only a ticket from the main cabin still available for the afternoon return.
Most aviation authorities in other countries have yet to approve the use of the 737 Max. But Brazilian airline GOL became the first operator to offer passenger flights earlier this month, and Aeromexico resumed flights with the plane this week. between Mexico City and Cancún.
Two other American airlines have the problematic jet: United airlines (UAL) and South-west (LUV), none of which have added the plane to their schedule so far. United said it plans to do so in the next three months, while Southwest expects to do so in the spring.
Almost all airlines worldwide have parked many of the jets they own, due to the lack of demand for air travel, fueled by a pandemic – so there is less immediate need to put planes back on the air. But the 737 Max is more fuel-efficient than previous versions of the aircraft in use, so airlines are interested in getting Max back up in the air.