American Airlines cancels 200 flights for safety tests

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: CNNMoney

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
March 26, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- American Airlines is canceling 200 flights or nearly 10% of its schedule for Wednesday as it performs more detailed inspections of a key aircraft model.

A statement from American said that the inspections pertain to questions raised by the FAA and American safety officials about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft. Airline spokesman Tim Wagner said that while the airline has not grounded any aircraft, the several hours needed to perform each inspection required the flight cancellations.

American, a unit of AMR Corp. (AMR, Fortune 500), is the world's largest airline based on miles flown by paying passengers....

The MD-80 is the workhorse of the American fleet. American's Web site says the aircraft accounts for 300 of the airline's fleet of 655 jets. The jet debuted in 1980 from McDonnell-Douglas, which was purchased by rival Boeing in 1997. Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) discontinued production of the aircraft in 1999. It says American is the largest operator of the aircraft.

The MD-80 issue is completely separate from a directive from the the FAA late Tuesday to the nation's airlines to inspect their older Boeing 737 jets for a problem with a bolt that causes fuel leaks. The problem has been linked to an August 2007 fire that destroyed a China Airlines 737 on the ground in Okinawa, Japan.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the 737 order only called for inspections, not the grounding of the aircraft. Among the carriers most affected by that order are Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500), Continental Airlines (CAL, Fortune 500), Southwest (LUV, Fortune 500) and UAL Corp.'s (UAUA, Fortune 500) United Airlines. She said that the FAA did not order American to ground the MD-80s.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/26/news/companies/american_boeing/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Dr.Phool]

1. I'm going to quit flying.

Deregulation, union-busting, and outsourcing maintenance are killing air travel.

I've got a flight on Friday, with a return next Friday, but, I think it's over for me.

[DS1]

2. I'm flying tomorrrow

I'll web-check in later today. My plane isn't one of these, but I'm still not looking forward to it.

[Parche]

5. Flying To Delaware?

:hi:

[EFerrari]

3. This should be huge. 200 flights!

Our fleet seems to be in big trouble. :(

[DeepModem Mom]

4. I think -- that Southwest, Delta (?), and now American have had to do various checks recently.

I guess the good news is that somebody (at FAA and/or the airlines) is paying attention now, which apparently was not the case before.

[BlueCollar]

6. They're sweating

Oberstar has called for hearings next month to look into FAA oversight...which is relatively non-existent.

The FAA operates on a basis that the airlines are self-policing under the current ATOS (Air Transport Oversight System)...Requires the airlines to have a self-audit program with minimal recurring inspections by the Feds.

Cheap fares lead to cost-cutting...Maintenance has been under the gun since de-regulation began to really take place.

Frank Lorenzo perfected the dissection principle and companies like ValuJet came on the scene. Since then, all the airlines have cut preventive maintenance to the minimums and it's even worse with outsourcing overseas.

I recently heard that requests for visits by the FAA to overseas maintenance facilities have to be processed through the State department...We wouldn't want to offend the host country would we?

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks so much for this info, BlueCollar -- although it's worrisome!

I hope the hearings do scare the FAA and the airlines into shaping up. Once again, this is what you get from government small enough to drown in a bathtub.

[BlueCollar]

8. You're welcome

I've been in the aviation business for a long time.

Compliance is a forgotten thing.

It's "on the books" at all the airlines, Repair Stations etc. and at the FAA.


Reality though, is that the entire system is the Wild West.

The drive to compete, at lower prices, is the root of the problem...and ultimately, the blame lies with the ticket buyer.

If the consumer continues to demand the lowest fare, the industry and government will do whatever it has to to provide it...