They also don't have the ability to differentiate between planes in general, so this is probably just as likely to affect their perceptions of the A320.
https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-dont-want-to-fly-b...
"If you had a flight on a Boeing 737 Max next week, and the FAA decided to clear the aircraft for flight, given the issues the plane has experienced, what would you do?
53.1% of respondents said they would reschedule. Of those, the survey found that 18.7% of respondents would reschedule their flight only if it didn't require a fee. Another 4.4% of respondents said they would pay to reschedule their flight up to a certain monetary fee, which they then typed in. A full 30% of people would cancel or reschedule their flights, regardless of the cost to them"
The initial question should be - have you ever checked what aircraft you will be flying ?
99% of passengers have no idea.
It wasn't really a concern in the past because Boeing and the FAA didn't appear to be failing. They have impressive mountains of data that they hid behind while just operating with staggering negligence and incompetence, day after day.
I don't care how many agencies certify the max, I know way too much about it's design and how much pilots hate it now, I'm never flying on it.
"Southwest said the comments were consistent with feedback it receives and noted that “well less than 1% of customers check their aircraft type traditionally, but we do expect more customers to become aware given the current climate.” " - 99% seems close :) I frankly don't expect that to change that much - maybe it will become 95%, still overhelming majority.
Survey: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/11/10298/10205/201...
Of course, if you live near a smaller airport there's less choice -- but you are probably more used to connecting flights in that case.