Half of Canadians Won’t Choose Boeing Max 737 Plane

Half of Canadians Won’t Choose Boeing Max 737 Plane

Three-quarters agree with decision to ban Boeing 737 from Canadian airspace

Toronto, March 18^th — In a random sampling of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1103 Canadians 18 years of age or older, three quarters (76%) agree with the Federal government’s decision to ban all Boeing 737 Max airplanes from Canadian airspace. 1 in 4 (24%) disagree with the decision.

Those who were most likely to agree with the ban are those 65 years of age and over (87%), earning between $40,000 to $60,000 (77%) and $80,000 to $100,000 (79%), the most educated (82%) and living in the Atlantic region (83%) or Québec (80%).

Majority not likely to fly on a Boeing 737 Max

7 in 10 (BTM2: 71%) would not likely choose to fly on a Boeing 737 Max airplane, with half (51%) saying they would not be likely at all.

About a third (TOP2: 29%) say they’d be likely to choose a Boeing 737 Max, but only 1 in 10 (9%) say they’d be very likely.

Half feel very safe travelling by airplane

9 in 10 (TOP2: 87%) feel safe when travelling by airplane with over half (51%) feeling very safe and a third (36%) feeling somewhat safe.

1 in 10 (BTM2: 13%) do not feel safe traveling by airplane with a few feeling not very safe (5%) and not safe at all (7%). 

Almost two thirds agree Boeing 737 Max should be grounded by Canadian airlines

When asked if the Boeing 737 Max airplanes belonging to Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet should be grounded, almost two thirds (64%) agree the planes should be grounded while a third (36%) disagree.

6 in 10 likely to change their flight if it was on a Boeing 737 Max airplane

6 in 10 (61%: TOP2) would change their flight to one that did not use a Boeing 737 Max airplane if they learned their flight was to use that plane, with 4 in 10 (42%) saying they’d be very likely to change flights.

About 4 in 10 (BTM2: 39%) say they aren’t likely to change their flight, with a quarter (24%) saying they aren’t likely at all.

Most Canadians travel by air once a year or less

Half (49%) say that they travel by airplane less than once per year.

A quarter (25%) travel once every six months by airplane.

1 in 10 (12%) say they travel by airplane once every three months while a similar proportion say they never travel by airplane (8%).

Few respondents travel once per month (3%), once per week (1%) and more than once per week (1%). 

“Half of Canadians say they wouldn’t choose a flight scheduled to use a Boeing 737 Max 8, and almost two-thirds are likely to change their flight if they learned it was going to use one,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. 

Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.