United says it will allow passengers to avoid 737 Max flights

United passengers fearful of boarding a Boeing 737 Max will be able to rebook flights for free once United starts flying the planes again. "If you get to the gate and it's not an airplane you want to fly on for whatever reason, if it's a Max, we'll put you on another flight," said Andrew Nocella, the airline's CCO Wednesday. Nocella said it's probably too soon to tell what passenger reaction will be once the 737 Max returns to service. The Boeing jet has been grounded since March, following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. "We need to get through the recertification process, return the aircraft to service and see how things go," he said. "If somebody is uncomfortable getting on the aircraft... we want to make sure we can put them on a different aircraft." A United (UAL) spokesman confirmed the rebooking would be done without the passengers being required to pay any change fee.<br/>Nocella said that United's website will notify passengers booking a flight what equipment it expects to use. Those plans sometimes change at the last moment, but postings at the gate will provide passengers with the most current information about what aircraft will be used on their flights.<br/>American Airline, which also has the grounded jets in its fleet, said it has yet to set a policy for dealing with customers who don't want to fly the 737 Max.<br/>