One nervous traveler touches the outside of the airplane while boarding and prays before takeoff. Another brings anti-anxiety medication. A third has been watching YouTube videos narrated by pilots to understand what happens during flights.
Such rituals have helped anxious passengers overcome their fear of flying. But in recent months, several travelers said, news of issues on Boeing planes has made these strategies insufficient and has threatened their ability to walk down the jetway. So they have come up with a plan: avoid flying on Boeing aircraft, even if it means re-booking flights.
“I just can’t step on that plane,” said Leila Amineddoleh, an art lawyer who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. “Even if the chance of getting hurt on a Boeing flight, even with all these incidents, is slim.”
The chance is indeed slim: Aviation is the safest form of transportation by far, with significantly fewer fatalities than motor vehicles and trains, and aviation-related deaths and injuries are at nearly all-time lows.
But after a series of quality control incidents, starting with the dramatic door panel blowout on a Boeing 737 Max midair during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, Amineddoleh prefers to fly on non-Boeing planes. She recently asked for a refund for upcoming flights she had booked to Miami and Europe, and bought replacement tickets on Airbus flights, despite a layover in her new Europe itinerary.
“It’s an inconvenience,” she said, especially because she and her husband are traveling with their young daughter. “But I’m not going to feel guilty, because I think her safety is more important than fatigue.”
Amineddoleh and three others told NBC News that the headlines about Boeing have made them uneasy, even though it’s not clear whether the problems were the result of manufacturing, maintenance or other issues. Earlier this month, flames came out of the engine of a Boeing 737-900 operated by United Airlines; dozens of injuries were reported…
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