How To Avoid Flying On A Boeing Airplane Out Of Southwest Florida International Airport

The Boeing airplane line has been in the news a lot lately. The most recent (as of this writing, at least), was when dozens of passengers were injured earlier this week when a 787 Dreamliner suddenly plunged mid flight in Australia. Earlier this year an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max had it's door plug suddenly blow off the plane. In a lesser headline, CNN reports that "In February, pilots on a United Airlines 737 Max reported that the flight controls jammed as the plane landed in Newark." Still not scared?

A former employee who allegedly raised concerns about production issues was found dead of an apparent suicide. The whistleblower had been speaking with media outlets before his death. So, without speculation, is there a way to fly out of Southwest Florida International Airport and avoid being on a Boeing Aircraft?

If this whole business has you spooked, here's some information you may be interested in. We'll not discuss rates or destinations, but which airline uses which plane.

Air Canada. Air Canada does have Boeing aircraft in it's fleet, including the 737 Max among others. If you're booking a flight from their website, click on "details" and you'll see the make and type of plane scheduled for that flight.

Alaska Airlines. Well, of course. That door plug that blew out on that Boeing flight was an Alaska Airlines plane. According to their website, they operate 231 Boeing aircraft and 84 Embraer planes. Click on "details" to see which plane you'll get.

American Airlines. American has a fleet nearing 1,000 planes. They have a mix of Airbus and Boeing planes.  Click on "details" before you finalize your booking.

Avelo Airlines. Avelo operates a fleet of Boeing 737 airplanes.

Breeze Airways. Breeze does not operate Boeing planes. They have Embraer and Airbus.

Delta. Delta has a lot of different aircraft. Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, and Embraer. Click on "details" when you're booking.

Discover Airlines. Discover has a fleet of 24 Airbus. No Boeing.

Frontier Airlines. Although Frontier has flown Boeing in the past, nearly 20 years ago they moved to an all Airbus fleet.

JetBlue. The namesake of our local stadium here in Fort Myers, JetBlue has no Boeing in its fleet. Airbus and Embraer.

Porter Airlines. This Canadian airline flies Embraer and Dash 8-400 Turboprop.

Southwest Airlines. Southwest boasts on their website that they have "the largest Boeing fleet in the world." The carrier flies the Boeing 737.

Spirit Airlines. No Boeing airplane here. Spirit operates an all Airbus fleet.

Sun Country. Sun Country operates Boeing 737 aircraft.

United Airlines. United has mostly Boeing and Airbus. They also have a lot of 'partners' that you can end up on, especially on connecting flights that may fly different planes. Click on the "details" section when you're booking to know.

Westjet. Another Canadian airline. Westjet flies Boeing aircraft.

I was on 4 flights in February, all but one of them was on a Boeing plane. Noo issues whatsoever. One of the flights had some turbulence and we didn't get snacks, which was a bummer. But I get it. Side note -  I got to see the "Tunnel of Lights" at Chicago O'hare.

It's neat, and something you should check out if you have time and you're at that part of the airport. . But it's not that big of a deal. I was the only person taking pictures.

Boeing has been around since 1916, so they'll figure this out. Meanwhile, if you feel safer flying on other planes rather than a Boeing airplane, I hope this list helps. For a smaller airport, Southwest Florida International Airport really does have a lot of options if you don't want to fly on a Boeing airplane.

RSW Named Number One Airport In America. Fort Myers is known for having the best beaches, golf courses and sunsets. Now, it will also be known for having the best airport too.

Being from Chicago, I was used to flying out of Ohare, which is one of the busiest airports in the country. Not only was traffic on the highway always terrible, but parking was easily an hour event, not to mention expensive. Also, the lines for check-in and TSA were insanely long. So, it was a breath of fresh air after moving here to be able to fly out of RSW. Yes, they may recommend arriving 2 hours before your flight leaves, but I've never waited longer than 10 minutes to get through security. It's convenient, parking is reasonable, and no trams or people movers are necessary to get around the airport.

I'm not the only one to think that Southwest Florida International (RSW) is pretty great. Travel Lens thinks so too. Travel Lens is an online publication that features best hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, and airports. There are over 5000 public airports in the United States. Travel Lens looked at the 50 busiest airports in the country and factors like wait times, passenger satisfaction, CO2 emissions and Google review ratings.

On the USA Airport Report by Travel Lens, RSW came in at number one with a rating of 8.06/10.  The airport has a Google review rating of 4.5 /5. While it's not the biggest airport, it may surprise you to learn that it's the second busiest single runway airport in the United States. The average wait time is just 16 minutes and there are low pollution levels.

Ben Siegel is the executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. He said about their rating "We would not be able to have this success without our employees, the airlines, Transportation Security Administration, concessions and airport business partners who work so hard each and every day to make the travel experience at RSW a positive one for our guests."

Score: 6.58

Score: 6.63

Score: 6.89

Score: 7.1

Score: 7.3

Score: 7.35

Score: 7.76

Score: 7.86

Score: 7.96

Score: 8.06