Most people don’t even think about the plane they’re flying in. It will not be that big of an issue to continue using them unless some group actively tries to warn passengers about flying in those specific planes.
Here’s my thought experiment on that: if I booked a flight to my vacation destination and, at the last moment, I discovered that I’d be flying in a 737 MAX, would I cancel my trip or pay a considerable amount of moment to get all our tickets changed?
I very likely would not. Would you? Would others?
It’s one thing to answer a question of a pollster, it’s another to take concrete action.
For a year after it is reinstated, my answer will be "yes, I'm changing my flight". Doubly so if my wife and child are on the plane.
Why? Because I'd be so unbelievably pissed at myself if the plane nosed itself into the ground, at least for the time it took to impact.
I also vote with my money.
Simple answer? I won't be flying airlines that use the 737 Max. Stick to the NG or pick up some 320's. Between work and personal travel for our family, that's over $50k of gross revenue per year (we both travel a lot for work). Maybe nobody else cares? I'm betting there are more people like me and my wife.
As others have stated, I will not be booking a ticket on a 737 max, period.
Granted I might not be a typical discount shopper, I pick flights based on comfort, not price and have checked the aircraft/airframe I will be in for years.
However, I have a tough time seeing anyone I know taking a risk with flying the 737 max for a 10% discount in fares.
Typically, fuel costs to the airline can be estimated at 10-20% of the ticket price on domestic flights (5 gallons per seat per hour). 737 Max is advertised as providing up to 20% in fuel cost saving, which would bring the cost to 4 gallons per seat per hour. Which should not affect a ticket price by more than $4-6 per hour of flight.
Are you suggesting that people aware of the issue will be wiling to risk their lives for a chance to save $8-20 to their destination?
And to add to that very few 737 Max are in service right now, only 300 or so of 5000 orders have been fulfilled. These supposed savings are not yet factored into the price of most tickets, they are future reductions at best. And likely these will not even be reductions, just a way for carriers to earn more per seat.
You are not guaranteed to fly on the model of airplane stated when you buy the ticket. This guarantee would be highly impractical because the airline would only have a limited ability to supply a replacement plane when the scheduled one is unavailable. So if push comes to shove, airlines will stop telling you what model of airplane they plan to use at all.
there's a lot of services to look up what aircraft is typically flying the route for the airline you're buying tickets for. Or even simpler route: look up the fleet page before booking.
Yeah, they say that, but when they get their non-refundable ticket and see it is in an 737 MAX. How many do you think will sue their airline claiming a refund?
