U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated the grounding of all 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines and within U.S. airspace.
Countries around the globe have grounded the aircraft, including the US, Canada, India, China and all of Europe.
According to CNN, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said the grounding of the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 will remain in effect pending new information, including that from the flight data recorder and voice recorder, following the incident of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
It’s important to note that this DOES NOT affect the approximately 25 types of 737 aircraft, only the two type in theMAX fleet.
Fox is closely monitoring the announcement and the impact schedule changes and delays may have on your travelers. Our Fox Team is working with the impacted airlines, including but not limited to, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines to rebook travelers as we do during all irregular operations or weather incidents.
Only a small percentage of overall flights will be affected by the grounding of the two MAX aircraft, and airlines are taking measures to minimize travel disruption. Southwest has about 160 daily Max 8 flights, equal to 4 percent of its 4,000 daily flights. American has 90 Max 8 flights a day, equal to 1.3 percent of its 6,700 flights. United has 40 daily flights on the bigger Max 9, equal to less than 1 percent out of 4,700 daily flights.
How could your travelers be impacted?
- They may receive notifications of schedule changes
- They may receive notifications to be rebooked
- They may have little/no impact
What’s next?
If your company has travelers who are impacted, your Client Solutions Manager will reach out with a list of affected travelers.