3 ms·

Is there a travel site that allows you to filter out 737Maxes?

Etheryte 3y ago
This question comes up every time articles like these come up and the answer is no, there is no reliable way unless you check what airplane you're boarding right as you walk on it. Airlines regularly swap out planes to cover up for delayed flights, weather, mismatched demand etc and the plane model you're shown as you're buying the ticket is not necessarily the plane you're gonna fly.
- repiret 3y ago
  I’m not convinced that actually happens very often. I can’t remember a case where it has happened to me, and consider that changing to a type with a different number of seats would require issue in new tickets. And you need to balance demand not on a single route, but on the entire circuit the plane needs to fly.
  - kayfox 3y ago
    This happens a lot when your flying with Alaska or Southwest. Both airlines have significant MAX fleets and will change the dispatch schedule for aircraft fairly often, in my experience on Alaska it happens about 10~20% of the time. Also, Southwest does not assign seats and Alaska does not have a difference in seats between their -900 and MAX 9 aircraft. Although with Alaska I have had my seat reassigned because they changed from a -900/MAX 9 to a -800 before.
  - kiwijamo 3y ago
    Happens quite often in airlines that operate a range of types. E.g. Airlines that operate both the 320 and 321, 777-200 and 777-300, etc often swap aircraft between pair of similar types but slightly different number of seats to match demand but still draw from the same pilots/crew due to common type ratings. But I've also had 320 to 777 swaps, 757 to 321, etc do it does happen especially on routes where they operate a range of different aircrafts. Yes some tickets may need to be reissued but that's better than cancelling the fight where all the tickets have to be rebooked onto other flights. Some changes are due to low demand so in those cases no ticket reissue are needed. It also depends on the airline, you'll see swaps more often on airlines that operate many different kinds of aircraft and also depends on the route as some routes can only be served by a particular aircraft (e.g. ultra long haul routes, airports with short runways, etc) while other can be served by a wider variety of aircrafts lending itself to operational flexibility. YMMV.
reedf1 3y ago
kayak.co.uk
devin 3y ago
Kayak does this. As the other reply points out, it's not a guarantee, but they are incorrect it doesn't exist anywhere as a filter.
whitepoplar 3y ago
Install the "Legrooms for Google Flights" Chrome extension. It tells you both the exact aircraft type and the legroom in Google Flights searches.
inoop 3y ago
Kayak lets you do it, although there's no guarantee the airline won't swap out the plane from under you after you've completed booking.
ibejoeb 3y ago
Two things: 1. Although the article states that the problem is with MAX planes, I am under the impression that this particular part of the design is common to all 737s. It might currently be limited to production runs of the MAX, but I don't think that's clear, and in theory the same defect is potentially in any recent 737. If anyone has better info, please let me know. 2. If it is limited to MAX and you're flying in the US, you can opt for Delta, which doesn't currently operate MAX. It does have 100 order for 2025, but for now, you're in the clear.
drak0n1c 3y ago
Look up the flight code on flight tracking sites before you check out. See what plane was used for most days in the last couple weeks. That's the model you'll get 95% of the time.

This question comes up every time articles like these come up and the answer is no, there is no reliable way unless you check what airplane you're boarding right as you walk on it. Airlines regularly swap out planes to cover up for delayed flights, weather, mismatched demand etc and the plane model you're shown as you're buying the ticket is not necessarily the plane you're gonna fly.

repiret 3y ago
I’m not convinced that actually happens very often. I can’t remember a case where it has happened to me, and consider that changing to a type with a different number of seats would require issue in new tickets. And you need to balance demand not on a single route, but on the entire circuit the plane needs to fly.
- kayfox 3y ago
  This happens a lot when your flying with Alaska or Southwest. Both airlines have significant MAX fleets and will change the dispatch schedule for aircraft fairly often, in my experience on Alaska it happens about 10~20% of the time. Also, Southwest does not assign seats and Alaska does not have a difference in seats between their -900 and MAX 9 aircraft. Although with Alaska I have had my seat reassigned because they changed from a -900/MAX 9 to a -800 before.
- kiwijamo 3y ago
  Happens quite often in airlines that operate a range of types. E.g. Airlines that operate both the 320 and 321, 777-200 and 777-300, etc often swap aircraft between pair of similar types but slightly different number of seats to match demand but still draw from the same pilots/crew due to common type ratings. But I've also had 320 to 777 swaps, 757 to 321, etc do it does happen especially on routes where they operate a range of different aircrafts. Yes some tickets may need to be reissued but that's better than cancelling the fight where all the tickets have to be rebooked onto other flights. Some changes are due to low demand so in those cases no ticket reissue are needed. It also depends on the airline, you'll see swaps more often on airlines that operate many different kinds of aircraft and also depends on the route as some routes can only be served by a particular aircraft (e.g. ultra long haul routes, airports with short runways, etc) while other can be served by a wider variety of aircrafts lending itself to operational flexibility. YMMV.

reedf1 3y ago

kayak.co.uk

devin 3y ago

Kayak does this. As the other reply points out, it's not a guarantee, but they are incorrect it doesn't exist anywhere as a filter.

whitepoplar 3y ago

Install the "Legrooms for Google Flights" Chrome extension. It tells you both the exact aircraft type and the legroom in Google Flights searches.

inoop 3y ago

Kayak lets you do it, although there's no guarantee the airline won't swap out the plane from under you after you've completed booking.

ibejoeb 3y ago

Two things: 1. Although the article states that the problem is with MAX planes, I am under the impression that this particular part of the design is common to all 737s. It might currently be limited to production runs of the MAX, but I don't think that's clear, and in theory the same defect is potentially in any recent 737. If anyone has better info, please let me know. 2. If it is limited to MAX and you're flying in the US, you can opt for Delta, which doesn't currently operate MAX. It does have 100 order for 2025, but for now, you're in the clear.

drak0n1c 3y ago

Look up the flight code on flight tracking sites before you check out. See what plane was used for most days in the last couple weeks. That's the model you'll get 95% of the time.