Just in time for the first blast of winter, Canadian air travellers are being advised to check their flight plans to avoid delays from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 9.It comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday grounded 171 of the narrow bodied jets after an emergency door tore away from Alaska Airlines jet mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.Miraculously, noone was injured and the plane in question managed to make a safe landing from its point of origin in Portland, OR..No Canadian carriers operate the 737 Max 9.Although no Canadian airlines operate the Max 9, carriers such as WestJet and Air Canada have partnership agreements with the US airlines that do. And while it wouldn’t affect travel within the country, the FAA decision could have repercussions for those with connections on airlines such as Alaskan and United which both operate out of Calgary to more than 50 destinations in Canada and the US.United on Monday cancelled more than 200 flights alone. Alaska, meanwhile, was forced to cancel about 21% of all its bookings affecting tens of thousands of travellers.“We’re continuing to avoid some cancellations by using other aircraft types whenever possible,” United told the Canadian Press..Future cancellations will depend on whether the problem is a one-off or an inherent design flaw within the whole fleet. If it proves to be systemic, then it could be problematic for both passengers and Boeing itself.The previous iteration of the 737 Max 8 was grounded for almost two years after a software glitch resulted in a pair of fatal crashes and a series of mishaps that cost Boeing billions of dollars in losses and threatened to bankrupt the company.Last month the FAA urged airlines to inspect all 737 Max models for a possible loose bolt in their rudder control systems.Analysts have criticized Boeing for rolling out new planes while adhering to a 55-year old design rather than starting from scratch — ostensibly to save money.
Just in time for the first blast of winter, Canadian air travellers are being advised to check their flight plans to avoid delays from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 9.It comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday grounded 171 of the narrow bodied jets after an emergency door tore away from Alaska Airlines jet mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.Miraculously, noone was injured and the plane in question managed to make a safe landing from its point of origin in Portland, OR..No Canadian carriers operate the 737 Max 9.Although no Canadian airlines operate the Max 9, carriers such as WestJet and Air Canada have partnership agreements with the US airlines that do. And while it wouldn’t affect travel within the country, the FAA decision could have repercussions for those with connections on airlines such as Alaskan and United which both operate out of Calgary to more than 50 destinations in Canada and the US.United on Monday cancelled more than 200 flights alone. Alaska, meanwhile, was forced to cancel about 21% of all its bookings affecting tens of thousands of travellers.“We’re continuing to avoid some cancellations by using other aircraft types whenever possible,” United told the Canadian Press..Future cancellations will depend on whether the problem is a one-off or an inherent design flaw within the whole fleet. If it proves to be systemic, then it could be problematic for both passengers and Boeing itself.The previous iteration of the 737 Max 8 was grounded for almost two years after a software glitch resulted in a pair of fatal crashes and a series of mishaps that cost Boeing billions of dollars in losses and threatened to bankrupt the company.Last month the FAA urged airlines to inspect all 737 Max models for a possible loose bolt in their rudder control systems.Analysts have criticized Boeing for rolling out new planes while adhering to a 55-year old design rather than starting from scratch — ostensibly to save money.
