Two nagging issues in the news today could well prolong the absence of Boeing 737 Max flights to Hawaii. In the first case, American Airlines’ pilots union president Dan Carey said today he wants Congress to be involved in order to prevent further issues following the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX airplane crashes. He indicated that the we are in a “global aviation crisis of trust.”
Checking in on the first issue, famed pilot “Sully” Sullenberger also testified before Congress today saying that that pilots should receive simulator training prior to the aircraft being recertified for flights. “These crashes are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us. These accidents should never have happened.”
In another major issue related to the new planes, FAA’s review process is being delayed in part due to difficulty in manually operating the aircraft’s trim wheel crank, which is used to control the aircraft’s nose angle. That according to The Wall Street Journal. The FAA however, denied that this will delay the plane’s return to service. In particular it is being reported that female pilots, who may have less upper body strength than male pilots, might not be able to turn the device during an emergency situation. FAA said last week that they were “aware that Boeing Co. is working with manufacturers of Boeing 737 MAX and NG simulators to adjust the fidelity of the stabilizer trim wheel. The FAA will make sure that all FAA-qualified simulators are properly modeled and will reproduce representative forces on the trim wheel during all phases of flight.” We take that to mean that Boeing plans to somehow make the wheel easier to operate.
Here is our latest update on when we expect these planes to return.
Further Delays Possible | Boeing 737 Max Flights to Hawaii
Of the airlines that fly from the US Mainland to Hawaii, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines are all Boeing next generation “Max” customers. Here’s what you need to know about Boeing 737 Max flights when they return to Hawaii. As a point of clarification, while the only planned Max flights to Hawaii we are aware of are to be on Southwest Hawaii Max 8, in fact the entire Max family (models 7-10) and all of its operators are impacted by these same issues.
Alaska Airlines
They have ordered 32 of the 737 Max 9, and they are scheduled to begin delivery of those later this year.
American Airlines
American Airlines has 24 of the Max 8 planes in service and 76 on order. These have largely been based out of Miami, but in the future they may well be flying to Hawaii.
Delta Airlines
No Max aircraft are in their fleet.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian has no Boeing Max in their fleet and they have none on order.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest has 35 Max 8 that were in service prior to the grounding and 245 more on order. However, all of the current Southwest Hawaii flights are using the company’s 737-800 aircraft. The company does intend to use the Max 8 to Hawaii in the near future.
United Airlines
They have 14 of the 737 Max 9, with 71 on order as well as 100 Max 10 planes on order.
John W says
The issues with the 737 max are a result of Boeing putting profits ahead of safety at any cost….good on the American Pilots
for having their priorities right, and good on Sully for his perspective…..where’s Southwest stand?
Colleen says
Ran across this website with quite a bit of info on Max8.
https://airlinerwatch.com/tag/737-max-8/
The U.S. is not the only country with Max8 worries. One country was cancelling an order for a huge number of the planes. Many countries want Boeing to do a lot more testing and train ALL pilots on simulators (and there are very few of them). If this happens – it may be a while before the Max8 flies again. We have decided to fly Hawaiian – even though it means foregoing our ‘FREE companion pass’ this year on SWA. :0/ We had considered going – despite our fear – but decided to donate our miles to our son for a trip that he will take BEFORE Max8 flies again.
Sadly, money seems to be the most important thing. Boeing knew a lot that they did not share and it cost lives. Maybe the first passengers on Max 8 should be Boeing Execs. ???
Shawn C. says
Actually, the Max 800 will likely be the very safest plane to fly after it starts flying again due to all the oversight, scrutiny, and pilot over-attentiveness it will receive.
Mike G says
That I seriously doubt
Colleen says
Sadly, software isn’t the only issue. Serious design flaws.
DB says
Colleen, you mean besides the hard-to-turn trim wheel crank? What other serious design flaws does it have?
John w says
Who knows what else there may be…..we do know this airplane was built with a philosophy of maximizing profits by cutting corners that they THOUGHT it was safe to do…..you certainly have to wonder what other corners were cut?
The fact that they they still wanted to get away with minimizing pilot training to save money doesn’t exactly earn a lot of faith in Boeing right now.
Colleen says
Read recently that many feel the engines are too large for the aircraft. :0/
Kathy says
I For one will never knowingly fly on a max plane. Software glitch loses lives.? Pilots of both crashed airliners it has been proven did follow Beoing protocol. But they still crashed. Guess. Boeing gave the wrong protocol so how can we trust them with the next “protocol”? Also they only offered a safety feature for extra money not as a Standard feature. They have fear in their faces all right but o my because they may lose money. Kathy
Troy says
Not entirely a true statement. They did follow protocol to adjust aircraft trim, but they did not deactivate the software in question. Thus when they did follow the protocol the situation temporarily was corrected and then the software would take over and put the plane back in the dive. Any pilot must follow all protocols and be a pilot. There are times we must override a piece of software and fly the plane ourselves – sadly this is the skill being deteriorated in our system today.
Colleen says
I say scrub all the ”plane flies itself” software – or most of it – and let pilots fly planes again. Max 8 had inadequate flight training. Pilots should have KNOWN what they needed to do to prevent disaster. They did not. Whose fault is it? BOEING.
Chris says
I agree. I won’t trust those planes.
SUSAN says
Have concerns on a united flight we have to Maui in May–737 max 9 from SFO. Will jet be changed before then or can we just expect the max 9 to be “worry free”?
Peter G says
Typo above: says Southwest has the 738-800. Should be 737-800.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Peter.
Thanks.
Aloha.
Beverly J says
We are flying to Maui in June via
Alaska. Will 747MAX be used. Very
Concerned
Mike G says
Alaska only flies either the 737-800 or 737-900 extended range aircraft. There are currently no 737 Max aircraft in Alaska’s fleet. You will be fine and will be flying a great airline to paradise
Kathy says
I have reservations on American Airlines for mid April
To go to Hawaii the big island. I wonder if the
Plane could be a 737 Max 8. What should I do
I am very concerned. Which airline should I take if
I can make a change?? Thanks
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kathy.
We specifically addressed that yesterday. They have no Max flights to Hawaii at this time.
Aloha.
Mike G says
You should fly Alaska instead
kiawe says
Thank you for the airframe updates (and thank you JeffL for the explanations). If AirCanada and other airlines were wise, they would immediately announce that until the software is patched, they were pulling the 737MAXes from active service; existing reservations would be honored and seats reassigned. It might mean a short-term loss, but which is worse: having people cancel flights and risking another crash, or temporarily grounding part of the fleet? Continuing to fly aircraft with known issues is a publicity nightmare.