Fliers check plane model when booking trips after Boeing's midair blowout

More travelers are checking the model of an aircraft before booking flights after a midair cabin blowout forced a new Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing jet to make an emergency landing and grounded more than 170 planes, several travel operators said. A piece of fuselage tore off the left side of the 737 MAX 9 jetliner operated by Alaska Airlines as it climbed following takeoff on Friday, forcing pilots to turn back and land safely with all 171 passengers and six crew on board. U.S. regulators have since grounded 171 737 MAX 9 planes for safety checks while Alaska and United Airlines, which together have 70% of the 737 MAX 9 fleet, have canceled hundreds of flights this week. The Alaska crew have been praised for swiftly landing the plane, with only minor injuries to those on board. But photos on social media showing oxygen masks deployed and a portion of the aircraft's side wall missing, as well provisional checks turning up loose bolts in some grounded planes, stirred concerns it would dent passenger confidence in Boeing planes. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Tuesday acknowledged mistakes and told staff he and many customers had been "shaken to the bone." Boeing must work to earn their confidence, he said. On Thursday, Ryanair CE passengers had not shown any concern about flying on Boeing 737 aircraft since the grounding. Even so, Booking Holdings-owned Kayak said it has seen a spike in the use of a filter on its website that allows customers to screen by plane model following Friday's incident. It has moved the filter up on its website to make it more prominent and added the ability to check specifically for the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 models. MAX 8 aircraft are still in service. Internova Travel Group, which represents more than 100,000 travel advisors worldwide, has also seen more queries about plane models.<br/>