Yes, the title is a bit strange, but these two issues have a lot in common.
The news of finding an effective Covid-19 vaccine coincided with the news of the 737 Max receiving flight approval again. In both areas, industry and society are divided.
While American, Southwest Airlines and Ryanair have clearly shared their trust in the aircraft, United announced that it will offer its passengers the option not to opt for Max and will not do aircraft-swap with Max in case of any breakdown. Canada and the European Union announced that they do not fully accept the FAA’s approval and will make their own special assessment. Therefore, polar approaches are used for the process of Max’s start of flights, just like the Covid-19 vaccine.
On the other hand, Covid-19 continues to spread and slow down and shrink economies. It is a big problem not to be able to fly Max at a time when airlines need profitability most because of the routes that they have difficulty filling. The Max series aircraft are more efficient and economical compared to the previous generation Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 / A321 family aircraft. Max is unrivaled in fuel savings for Boeing operators; so airlines do need Max to stand.
The rumors that Qantas announced that it would not fly those who do not have the Covid-19 vaccine have brought many reactions and protests. While some passengers say they cannot be forced to get vaccinated, the other part fully supports the discourse. There is a clear division in this regard.
We are now approaching the days when these two big problems will intersect. Whether vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers who accepts or rejects to fly in a Boeing 737 Max must be resolved. In summary, airlines face a passenger profile as follows;
The uncertainty in the routes airlines are currently forced to fill is divided into 6 separate categories. All airlines, without exception, have completely lost Group 6 and are thinking about how to convince them to fly again. Domestic passenger traffic data from China show that the weight is in the 5th group. It would not be wrong to say that the top 4 groups in Europe are in the majority. However, as soon as the number of cases and measures increase in any country, even if there is no flight ban, people are shifting to the 6th Group.
Air travel will struggle for a while more among these unpredictable or personal preferences. Ensuring passenger satisfaction and continuity will be the only criterion of success in a process where the society and passengers shift to different groups from week to week.