Boeing has been at the center of several incidents lately. From the midair incident with Alaska Airlines to headlines about falling tires and a broken fuselage panel, the spotlight is on one particular aircraft model: the Boeing 737-9 MAX.

Amid emergency landings, a mass grounding order, and ongoing investigations, many are wondering if it is still safe to fly on a Boeing 737-9 MAX plane. Below, you’ll see a list of airlines with the Boeing 737-9 MAX in their fleet, but first, let’s go over the events that got us here.

It started with an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight in January when a door plug flew off the plane. The crew made a safe emergency landing, but the event quickly prompted a response from the public. Following the incident, we saw a flurry of flight delays and cancelations, and then the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required all 737-9 MAX aircraft to be grounded.

On January 11th, the Federal Aviation Administration released a statement on Twitter/X, stating, “This incident should never have happened and it cannot happen again. The FAA formally notified Boeing that it is conducting an investigation.”

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Boeing also released a statement regarding the increased scrutiny around the 737-9 MAX. In part, the statement read, “We are taking significant action to strengthen safety and quality at Boeing. We are focused on demonstrating change and building trust one airplane at a time.”

As the investigation continues, the media has continued to report on the story. Lester Holt of NBC Nightly News spoke with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker in an exclusive interview. During the interview, Whitaker asserted that he wants Boeing to focus on “shifting the focus from production to safety and quality” after explaining that Boeing does not have the safety culture the FAA is looking for.

After a recent tour of Boeing’s facilities following several high profile issues with the company, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker speaks to @LesterHoltNBC in an exclusive interview. pic.twitter.com/4EmglyZc70

— NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas (@NBCNightlyNews) March 19, 2024

That said, Whitaker emphasized that the system is safe. In fact, he stated, “Flying is still the safest way to travel.” There has been a new wave of safety concerns with Boeing under a microscope, but the FAA remains confident in air travel.

 

 

My message to the flying public: Flying is still the safest way to travel. We are working vigilantly to make sure it stays that way. https://t.co/GZ9jGHChw7

— FAA Mike Whitaker (@FAA_Mike) March 19, 2024

Below, you’ll find a list of airlines that have the Boeing 737-9 MAX in their fleet, courtesy of The Times:

 

 

• United Airlines: 79 planes
• Alaska Airlines: 65 planes
• Copa Airlines: 29 planes
• Aeromexico: 19 planes
• Turkish Airlines: 5 planes
• SCAT: 5 planes
• Icelandair: 4 planes
• Lion Air: 3 planes
• Flydubai: 3 planes

On March 4th, the FAA released an update on the investigation into the 737-9 MAX planes. According to the statement, Mike Whitaker spoke with Boeing’s CEO and other Boeing executives to inform the company that a comprehensive corrective action plan is required “to fix systemic quality-control issues.” The FAA gave Boeing 90 days to outline an action plan and halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX. 

This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again. The FAA formally notified Boeing that it is conducting an investigation. pic.twitter.com/FJripns1CP

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2024

 

 

Despite these findings, the FAA remains confident in the safety of air travel. For every one “freak” incident, there are thousands of planes that take off and land without issue. We will continue to monitor this ongoing situation, so stay tuned for updates.

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