Concerns grow as nations ground Boeing 737 Max jets

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - The Boeing 737 Max jet is on the minds of travelers at Orlando International Airport (OIA).

After two crashes in five months, the most recent leaving 157 dead in Ethiopia on Sunday, many countries around the globe have grounded the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration, however has not yet grounded the new jetliner in the United States.

"It sounds like they need to rethink what's happening and possibly ground them," said flyer Carlette Bradley.

Gary Pillans, of Canada, does not fear flying on the Max jet.

“I don't know if it was just a freak thing or if it's a problem with the aircraft, I guess someone higher up would know. It was definitely something we were thinking about," said Pillans. 

Lisa Schuster is flying back home to Milwaukee and said she would change her flight if she found out it was on the Max model aircraft.

"I'd rather survive and be delayed getting home, than not making it home," Schuster added.

OIA reports nearly 400 arrivals and departures on these aircrafts monthly. Many flyers may not know they have one of these seats booked.

"Normally, when you book on an airline's website, it's going to give you the flight number, and then it should give you the actual aircraft," explained Rebecca Gazdak, a travel specialist at Travel Planners International.  "You should be able to click a link, and it will tell you the actual aircraft that you were going to fly on."

Travelers can also call the airline and ask. If they aren't comfortable on these planes, Gazdak said the time to change flights is early on.

"Once you book and airline ticket, you only have so much time to cancel it and after that time, you would have to pay a change fee," said Gazdak. "Hopefully, the airlines will see that this is an issue and maybe you can get that waived."

Change fees could be upwards of $200. Right now, Southwest is the only major carrier without flight change fees. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA continue their investigation into Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft.