Alaska and United are the only major U.S. airlines that fly Boeing 737 Max 9 planes

Federal authorities have grounded some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after an Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out a portion of its fuselage shortly after takeoff above Oregon.

The blowout on Friday, Jan. 5 forced pilots to make an emergency landing. None of the 171 passengers or six crew were seriously injured, but the rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling.

Other U.S. travelers are dealing with the fallout, too, since hundreds of flights have been canceled due to the Boeing 737 Max 9 groundings. 

That’s led people online to ask which airlines use the Max 9, Google search data show. Posts on X claim Alaska and United are the only major U.S. airlines that fly the jetliners.  

THE QUESTION

Are Alaska and United the only major U.S. airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9?

THE SOURCES

• Cirium, an aviation analytics firm
• Flightradar24, a global flight tracking service
• Fleet information from major U.S. airlines
• Alaska Airlines
• United Airlines
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

THE ANSWER

Yes, Alaska and United are the only major U.S. airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9. 

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WHAT WE FOUND

In the U.S., Alaska and United Airlines are the only major airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium and global flight tracking service Flightradar24.

United is the world’s largest operator of the 737 Max 9, Flightradar24 says. 

Other major U.S. airlines’ websites – Southwest, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Spirit and Allegiant – did not list the Boeing 737 Max 9 as one of the planes they fly.  

Southwest and American Airlines operate a different variant of the Boeing 737 Max that is not affected by the mandatory groundings. 

The Max is the newest version of the Boeing 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane that’s frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. 

Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and 9 planes were previously grounded worldwide for nearly two years until Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes. The Max 8 and 9 mainly differ in size. 

The FAA said on Jan. 6 that its emergency order grounding Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory until they are inspected affects an estimated 171 planes worldwide.

Both Alaska and United Airlines have reported that they found loose parts in the panels – or door plugs – of some other Boeing 737 Max 9 jets. 

“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United said. 

Alaska said that as it began examining its Max 9 jets, “Initial reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft.” 

Panama’s Copa Airlines is among the international airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9. The airline said in a statement on Jan. 7 that it had grounded 21 of its Max 9 aircraft.

Aeromexico, Turkish Airlines, Icelandair, flydubai and Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines are among the other international airlines that fly the Max 9, according to Cirium and Flightradar24.

Amid travel disruptions caused by the Max 9 groundings, Alaska is offering a flexible travel policy that allows anyone with flights through Jan. 9 to change their reservation without a difference in fare. Information about rebooking Alaska flights under the flexible travel policy is available here. 

In a statement about the grounding of Max 9 aircraft, United said it is “working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options.” The airline has more information about canceling or rescheduling flights on its website.

Travelers who want to know the type of plane they’ll be flying on can typically check the airline’s reservations page.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: Alaska y United son las únicas grandes aerolíneas en los EE.UU. que utilizan aviones Boeing 737 Max 9