first time – After covering the 737 Max’s troubled history for years, a first flight on United Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max service between Newark and Glasgow left the reporter feeling at ease—after regulators and Boeing addressed flight-control issues and the fleet logged hun
A short time after the wheels lifted, the moment didn’t feel like a test.
For years, the Boeing 737 Max’s name carried the weight of two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Together, they killed 346 people and turned the aircraft into a global symbol of how quickly safety questions can become headlines. But on a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max flight over the Atlantic—part of a seasonal daily nonstop route between Newark. New Jersey. and Glasgow. Scotland—the experience felt. in plain terms. calm.
The flight is part of United’s seasonal service. a deployment the airline has chosen because of the 737 Max’s fuel efficiency and range. For a reporter who had been tracking the aircraft’s story closely. the realization came quietly: there was no sense of urgency in the cabin. no lingering tension in the cockpit. and nothing in the flight itself that matched the anxiety many passengers still carry.
The 737 Max wasn’t always supposed to be this way. The plane was developed to help Boeing compete with Airbus. after the Airbus A320neo family gained traction with a more fuel-efficient engine option. The 737 family had been the best-selling single-aisle jets for decades. but Boeing didn’t want to fall behind on orders or spend the time required to design an entirely new aircraft.
Instead. Boeing modified the long-running 737 design—stretching it longer and using larger engines mounted higher and farther forward on the wings. Those changes improved fuel efficiency, but they also altered the aircraft’s flying characteristics. To compensate. Boeing quietly introduced the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. or MCAS. a computer program intended to help the new 737s fly more like earlier versions. reducing the need for costly additional pilot training.
That system became the center of the early tragedies.
MCAS relied on just one sensor for an important input and had the ability to override pilot commands to control the aircraft. Those features were tied to two fatal crashes early in the 737 Max’s service life. In 2024. the scrutiny returned again when another Boeing 737 Max lost a piece of its fuselage shortly after takeoff. adding to the aircraft’s ongoing attention from regulators. airlines. and the public.
The crash timeline remains stark. A Lion Air flight in Indonesia in 2018 killed 189 people. Boeing and regulators insisted it was a tragic coincidence. A few months later. a second Max crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people. and the coincidence narrative collapsed under the weight of two similar outcomes.
Ultimately, the global 737 Max fleet was grounded from March 2019 to November 2020 as Boeing and regulators addressed flight-control issues.
Boeing has previously emphasized that it was improving safety on the 737 Max production line. The company pointed to steps including enhancing training and eliminating defects earlier in the manufacturing process. After returning to service, the plane has not had significant safety issues since.
The flight itself also reflected why airlines like United see the Max as more than a headline. For United, the choice for Glasgow was tied to market fit and aircraft capability. The airline uses the fuel-efficient 737 Max for its seasonal daily nonstop service between Newark and Glasgow, Scotland.
In an email. Matt Stevens. United’s international network vice president. said the 166-seat 737 Max 8 is “the best option right now to serve the market efficiently” for Glasgow’s “medium-sized market.” He also described it as a match for demand shaped primarily by leisure travelers. with some business travel. He added that United tries to align aircraft selection with customer needs while staying economical.
Passengers do get a predictable tradeoff on the overnight leg to Europe. Economy passengers receive a standard seat and meal, but premium cabin passengers should know the plane is configured primarily for domestic flights. There are no lie-flat seats on the overnight segment to Europe.
If the history explains the nerves, the current operations are what helped the reporter feel at ease.
The global 737 Max fleet has already logged hundreds of thousands of flight hours, based on aviation analytics company Cirium. After the early technical issues were worked through, the aircraft has become a steady part of daily schedules rather than a constant source of alarms.
That’s why the question—“Is the 737 Max safe to fly?”—didn’t end with theory.
Without minimizing the tragedies of 2018 and 2019, the reporter said there was no need to be concerned. The flights to and from Scotland were described as smooth. And during the trip. the safety card that listed “737 Max” on the front cover was the kind of reminder that could have been missed if not for its placement.
There’s a tension passengers can feel. even when the aircraft is flying normally: it’s easy to be nervous about an airplane type that has been linked to disasters that made the world watch. But the message inside the flight experience was straightforward—aviation as an industry prioritizes safety. and the Boeing 737 Max would not be used on hundreds of flights every day if it weren’t ultimately a safe plane.
The reporter also received access from United Airlines. The reporter is Zach Wichter, a travel reporter and writer of the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY, based in New York, reachable at zwichter@usatoday.com.
Boeing 737 Max United Airlines Newark Glasgow flight MCAS aviation safety Cirium flight hours aircraft grounded March 2019 November 2020 Matt Stevens