PHOENIX — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, that the United States will be grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes.
Between the two airlines, American and Southwest operate 58 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets.
None originate out of Phoenix Sky Harbor for American and very few for Southwest. So chances are - it's your connecting flight that would be affected.
You can find out if an upcoming flight was scheduled for that type of plane by checking Flightaware.com which shows a history of which aircraft are flown.
Some airlines also have it on their ticket confirmations or you can call the airline.
Southwest tickets lists the plane as "B38M."
American calls them "B7M8"
Americantells us it's "working to re-book customers as quickly as possible" and canceled flights can get a full refund.
Southwest says those affected "can re-book on alternate flights without any additional fees or fare differences within 14 days of their original date of travel"
Travel insurance likely won't cover cancellations for grounded flights according to insurance comparison website Squaremouth.com.
It could kick in for parts of your trip if you have a "cancel for any reason" policy upgrade. But a Squaremouth spokesperson says, "this benefit can refund travelers up to 75% of their trip costs if they cancel at least 2-3 days before their departure. To be eligible for this benefit, a traveler must buy their policy within 21 days of their initial trip payment and insure their entire trip cost."
Consumers best bet is to talk to the airline and the destination to let them know what's going on and work out a plan to get your there on time and with as little hassle as possible.
