Kayak soothes nervous Boeing travelers with the airplane search filter

BENGALURU / OSLO (Reuters) – Kayak travel website is making changes to allow customers to exclude certain types of aircraft searches, and booking sites seek to redirect pbadengers after an unexplained crash caused by a Boeing aircraft, which killed 157 people in Ethiopia.

The first initiative of one of the major US travel sites to adapt its service came as hundreds of nervous customers from Southwest, United and American Airlines had chosen social media to search for flights on aircraft other than the Boeing 737 MAX, involved in the fatal crash on Sunday.

Other travel agencies and websites have reported numerous re-bookings following cancellations caused by the stranding of two-thirds of the 737 MAX aircraft by a long list of authorities and airlines international outside of North America.

"We've recently received feedback to make Kayak filters more accurate, to exclude particular aircraft models from search queries," a Reuters website spokesperson said in an email answering questions. .

"We are posting this improvement this week and are committed to providing our customers with all the information they need to travel with confidence."

Kayak is a sister site of Booking.com and Agoda.com, used annually by millions of travelers to book flights and hotels.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel, which handles travel for global corporations, said some customers have asked to explore the possibility of temporarily restricting Boeing 737 MAX 8 travel.

"This could potentially result in travelers finding themselves with fewer flight options and being sensitive to higher airfares, depending on the route," CWT said. "We are working with customers to understand the practicalities and implications of setting up such restrictions."

The Twitter accounts of Southwest and American Airlines were inundated with customers asking for refunds or being transferred to other flights, as well as complaints about long waits for waiting for them. 39 to be put in contact with a representative.

The Twitter user @ johnpauli6 wrote to Southwest that he did not want to be part of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 during a trip with his wife on Saturday. "Prepare for many lawsuits" if something happened, said the user.

Boeing was mentioned more than 590,000 times on Twitter, an increase of 2,300% over the median number of daily mentions.

The accident in Ethiopia was the second of the last five months involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Last year, a Lion Air plane broke down in Indonesia, killing 189 people.

Although there is no evidence of links, many nations and the European Union have suspended the 737 MAX.

Boeing said that he had no reason to doubt the plane, and Southwest and American both said the data from their fleet showed that the plane was safe.

"Although the situation has not prevented people from traveling on business, many want to know which plane they are flying on," said a spokesman for American Express Global Business Travel, another major supplier. .

"When a traveler books a trip, we know at that moment what type of aircraft is badigned to the flight service. However, this may change at the discretion of the airline until the time of departure. "

"TELEPHONE CALLS ARE GENERATED TO COME"

Temporary nerve crises among travelers are a familiar part of the serious crash response, and agents who book trips for top leaders have been cautious about changes to reservation systems in response to the Boeing series.

Norwegian travel agency Berg-Hansen, in charge of flight cancellations on Norwegian Air's 737 MAX aircraft, said its customers were mainly concerned about whether their flights were still scheduled and whether it was necessary to book again.

"We have increased our staff from last night, night to night and now," said Per-Arne Villadsen, managing director of Berg-Hansen.

"Remarkably, we have fewer phone calls than expected, although they are more numerous than usual. We had about 100 phone calls from midnight until 7 o'clock this morning and they continue to arrive.

He added that the airline was using alternative airlines such as SAS, AirFrance and KLM to make a new reservation and that he thought the customers would return to Norwegian Air if they reopened their flights on the MAX at the airport. # 39; future.

"We can confirm a growing interest in the types of aircraft we operate," said a spokesman for the Swedish company SAS. "I can guarantee you that we have not even considered changing the pricing policy because of the tragic situation."