Boeing Safety Issues Shake Americans' Confidence in Flying

Three in four millennials say they are more worried about flying in the wake of recent high-profile safety lapses at Boeing, according to a recent poll conducted exclusively for Newsweek.

The survey, by the polling firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies, found a widespread impact on Americans' view of the safety of commercial air travel after a series of quality control incidents at the Virginia-based plane manufacturer made headlines around the world—most notably the mid-air blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The aircraft involved in that episode was a Boeing 737 Max, an airliner that was previously grounded worldwide for nearly two years after a pair of crashes killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. An investigation into what caused the piece of fuselage to fall off the Alaska flight is ongoing.

Other recent incidents involving Boeing planes have drawn scrutiny, including a 777 operated by United Airlines losing a tire during takeoff, a mid-flight engine fire on a 737 (also United), a 737 engine cowling falling off during a Southwest Airlines flight and a LatAm Airlines 787 Dreamliner suddenly losing altitude and causing dozens of injuries.

Across age groups, just over two-thirds of poll respondents said those stories made them more hesitant to fly. More than a third of baby boomers surveyed said they were less likely to actually book a flight because of their hesitation, the highest share of any generational cohort.

Generation Z and millennials—defined for this poll as those aged 18-42—were most likely to respond that they were "a lot more worried" about flying, at 28 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

"The succession of failings with Boeing aircraft are having a real impact on American's confidence in flying," said Eoin Sheehan, a senior research analyst at Redfield & Wilton who helped conduct the poll, which surveyed 4,000 U.S. adults between April 6-7.

"That more than a quarter of those aged 18 to 42 are now 'a lot' more worried to fly and that 35 percent of Boomers are now less likely to book a flight as a result of Boeing's mechanical issues illustrates the scale of the damage that has been done to the company's—and the industry's—reputation."

Newsweek reached out by email to Boeing for comment.

Despite the worrisome headlines, flying remains by far the safest way to travel, statistically speaking, a point echoed by Clint Henderson, managing editor for the popular travel site The Points Guy.

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"It is a super safe time to fly, especially in America" Henderson told Newsweek. "Social media is creating a lot of fear for younger travelers who get their news from places like TikTok and Instagram, but it's exaggerated. There hasn't been a fatal plane crash in the U.S. since 2009."

He said that fact was particularly striking given the amount of capacity that airlines have added over the last decade: "The fact that there's still been so few major incidents is remarkable."

While Henderson acknowledged that Boeing has "some serious issues they need to work out," the manufacturing process still includes multiple safety redundancies and accidents remain exceedingly rare.

Still, for those who are anxious about flying on a particular type of plane, he said there were certain steps they could take. Some domestic carriers, like JetBlue and Spirit, don't fly any Boeing planes at all, while others like Southwest operate exclusively Boeing fleets.

Many airlines will also show travelers what type of plane they'll be flying on if they book directly. Some third-party booking sites, such as Kayak, even let travelers filter their itineraries based on aircraft type. But potential fliers should bear in mind that the aircraft assigned during the booking process is not guaranteed and could be changed depending on the needs of the carrier, Henderson said.

"The airlines will usually work with you, even if your plane is swapped out last minute," he said. "You can always just call the airline and find out."