How to check if you’re booking a flight on a Boeing plane
Even if you’re not a nervous flyer, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little uneasy about flying on a Boeing plane these days.
The aircraft manufacturing giant has had a slew of issues lately, which Mashable covered in detail. The TL;DR? There have been entire panels flying off mid-air, emergency landings, detached tires, and more. All this after a couple of high-profile, deadly crashes a few years back and multiple investigations into lax safety standards.
All this troubling news has caused some people to avoid flying on a Boeing plane. Honestly, who could blame them? After all, you don’t see these types of headlines with Boeing’s main competitor, Airbus. And even if you felt safe, perhaps you don’t want to support a company with reportedly lax standards and a sketchy safety history.
But how would you figure out what plane you’re flying? It’s pretty simple, actually.
The Points Guy, a site devoted to travel and deals, pointed out that pretty much every airline tells you the type of aircraft when you book. If you’re on a specific airline’s site, simply click “details” on the potential flight before booking it. That’ll almost always list the aircraft type.
The aircraft type will also be listed on a flight aggregator service. I usually prefer Google Flights or Kayak; both list the aircraft type before you book. I pulled up some potential flights for a trip I might take to New Orleans, for instance. Kayak lists the aircraft type when you click a flight while Google shows it when you hit the down arrow to reveal more details. Either way, it’s super easy to find. Here’s what it looks like for Google Flights and Kayak, respectively.
Now, what if you’ve already booked your flight? Or you want to ensure your plane hasn’t been changed to a Boeing since aircraft swaps often happen. Well, first you can look up your flight on the airline’s website, which will tell you the expected aircraft. You can also enter your flight info into FlightRadar24, a website that live tracks every single flight. In the few days leading up to your trip, it’ll list both the type of aircraft and the exact airplane you’ll be taking.
It’s not hard to find what you’re flying, but it might be hard to avoid flying Boeing forever, considering it’s a giant in the aircraft manufacturing space. Let’s hope the company gets its act together but, until then, we can at least see what we’ll be boarding.
