Minnesota Airline One Of Few That Doesn’t Fly Boeing 737 MAX
Many planes nationwide have been grounded as the FAA looks into issues with a popular aircraft.
A Boeing 737 MAX 9 Jet flown by Alaska Airlines lost a door plug during a flight. It caused a chaotic scene where the cabin depressurized, oxygen masks fell, and the plane had to make an emergency landing.
What is a door plug on a plane?
Simply put, the door plug is where an emergency exit door could be placed with a different seating configuration. This plane was not configured to need an exit door on that row, so a door plug was put in its place.
The plane was grounded - again.
The specific model was grounded and flights were canceled. The aircraft is very popular and flown by many airlines. But what if you don't want to fly on a Boeing MAX aircraft?
In 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX Family was grounded after two deadly crashes killed 346 people. There was even a documentary made about it: DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing.
Alaska Airlines grounded its 65 Max 9 planes and United grounded it's 79 Max 9s on Monday. This led to over 367 flights being cancelled.
What Airlines Currently Don't Fly The 737 MAX in The United States?
According to Alternative Airlines, the following airlines don't have the 737 MAX in their fleet - yet.
- Allegiant Air
- Delta
- Frontier Airlines
- Avelo Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue
- Spirit Airlines
- Sun Country Airlines
Many of these airlines have the 737 MAX on order.
Allegiant has 50 orders that were supposed to be delivered in 2023. Delta has 100 of the planes scheduled for delivery in 2025.
Minnesota Based Sun Country Airlines Does Not Fly The 737 MAX
Sun Country, based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is on the list of airlines that do not operate the 737 MAX in 2024. Their website indicates that they fly the Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 next-generation aircraft. The production of these aircraft ended in 2019.
Problems with the previous 737-700 & 737-800.
In December, the 737NG models that were the predecessor of the MAX family also had issues with cabin depressurization. A Southwest Airlines Flight had an engine failure. A piece of the fan blade came apart and punctured the side of the aircraft, causing a woman to be killed.