On Apr 2, 7:53 am, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
On Mar 27, 7:10 wrote:





On Mar 26, 9:25 wrote:

And a government that hasn't been watching theairlines...that would
be bad for business.

If only we had an administration who cared more for people than for
dollars.

TMT

AmericanAirlinescancels flights Wed Mar 26, 10:18 AM ET

AmericanAirlinescanceled about 200 flights on Wednesday so its crews
can inspect some wire bundles aboard its MD-80 aircraft.

The cancelled flights represent less than 10 percent of the nation's
biggest airline's scheduled service for the day.

The need for the new inspections became known during an audit of
American by a joint team of inspectors from the Federal Aviation
Administration and the Fort Worth-based airline, according to a
statement from American.

"We are reinspecting the MD-80s to make sure the wiring is installed
and secured exactly according to the directive," American spokesman
Tim Wagner said in the statement, which did not describe the function
of the wiring.

"We are in the process of completing the inspections on the remaining
airplanes and will return them to service on a rolling basis
throughout the day," Wagner said.

About 50 departures each were canceled at American's hubs at Dallas-
Fort Worth and Chicago O'Hare international airports.

Shares of American's parent AMR Corp. fell 43 cents, or 4.5 percent,
to $9.20 in morning trading Wednesday. They have traded in a 52-week
range of $8.38 to $34.

Oh look...here's another one....

Now how could this be happening if the government was doing its job of
oversight?

Cut a corner here, take a shortcut there...and people start falling
out of the sky.

I wonder if this has anything to do with all those Republicans that
will be flying into the GOP convention this summer?

TMT

Flight cancellations spread to Delta

Flight cancellations caused headaches for people taking flights on
Delta Air Lines from Atlanta on Thursday because of the company's
voluntary re-inspection of wiring on its MD-88 airplanes.

Delta began the inspections Wednesday night, causing flights to be
canceled and unsuspecting passengers to become frustrated.

Officials were expecting heavy volumes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport on Thursday, Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly said.
Both Delta and the Transportation Security Administration were
bringing in extra staff to handle the crowd of travelers, she said.

Kelly said she didn't yet have estimates on how many passengers were
affected by the flight cancelations and urged travelers to check their
flight's status on Delta's Web site.

Delta's MD-90 planes were initially part of the re-inspection, but it
was later determined that only Delta's 117 MD-88s would be part of the
review, Kelly said.

Delta's review comes as AmericanAirlinescanceled about 325 flights
Wednesday so its crews could inspect wire bundles aboard its MD-80
aircraft.

Delta said its planes were inspected earlier this year but the airline
is "proactively and voluntarily revalidating" compliance with a
directive from the Federal Aviation Administration.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

And yet another one....

Now how could this be happening if the government was doing its job
of
oversight?

Placing the flying public at risk...and the government allowing it.

TMT

United grounds 777s for inspections

UnitedAirlinestemporarily grounded 11 percent of its fleet
Wednesday, while it tested dozens of Boeing 777s to make sure
components of a cargo fire suppression system were operating
effectively, the carrier said.

The Chicago-based airline said testing will be done on 52 777s during
the next 36 hours. Spokeswoman Jean Medina said 12 planes had been
inspected and cleared to fly by midmorning.

The carrier has about 460 aircraft.

Delays were being reported in Japan and Hawaii Wednesday morning and
the airline warned passengers to be prepared for other delays and
cancellations as it proceeded with the inspections.

United, a subsidiary of UAL Corp., said a review of maintenance
records showed a test on one of five bottles in the fire suppression
system hadn't been performed. The airline alerted authorities.

The planes, which have a so-called "intuitive" self-diagnostic system
that would have detected any malfunction with the fire suppression
system, mostly fly international routes and from the carrier's major
hubs.

United carried out unscheduled maintenance on seven of its Boeing 747
jets last month but found no safety-related issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been checking maintenance
records at all domesticairlinesafter revelations surfaced about
missed safety inspections at SouthwestAirlinesCo.

___

On the Net:

http://www.united.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

And yet another instance....

How do you feel knowing the Government has put you and your family at
risk/

TMT

American cancels more flights By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer
Tue Apr 8, 6:48 PM ET



American Airlines said it was canceling up to 500 flights Tuesday,
potentially more than one-fifth of its schedule, to check the bundling
of wires in some planes, the same issue that caused the airline to
scrap more than 400 flights last month.

American, the nation's largest carrier, said the cancellations could
spill into Wednesday and beyond.

The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration raised more
concerns about the recent inspections of the wiring in its
approximately 300 MD-80 aircraft.

The inspections will focus on issues including the spacing and
direction of cords used to secure bundles of wires in the planes'
auxiliary hydraulic systems. The company said they were not safety-of-
flight issues.

Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline, said an FAA inspector checked
several planes Monday and found that some of the work performed last
month didn't meet the agency's standards.

American operates about 2,300 daily flights. Wagner said 185 flights
had already been canceled by late afternoon at Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport, where American often uses MD-80s.

The FAA has tightened inspections of planes at all U.S. carriers since
the agency came under fire for letting Southwest Airlines Co. fly
planes that had missed safety inspections. American and Delta Air
Lines Inc. both canceled flights in late March to perform wiring-
related inspections and repairs.

Wagner said the latest grounding of flights was due to "very detailed
and technical compliance" with instructions that American gave its
mechanics last month for how to comply with the FAA order on wiring in
MD-80s, and the work done by the mechanics.

Wagner said the company started pulling planes out of service in mid-
afternoon. The work may last just 10 to 20 minutes per plane but could
take longer if wiring needs to be rebundled, he said.

It is "quite possible" that the work -- and flight cancellations --
could stretch beyond Wednesday, he said.

In a statement issued by the airline, Chief Executive Gerard Arpey
said, "We regret and apologize that we are once again causing
inconvenience to our customers." He said the company was working in
good faith to comply completely with the FAA wiring order.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it would put displaced travelers on
other American flights or those operated by competitors.

The cancelations and resulting loss of revenue could hardly come at a
worse time for American, which is facing high fuel prices and a
weakening economy that could hurt demand for travel.

American's parent, AMR Corp., is scheduled to report first-quarter
earnings in two weeks, and analysts are forecasting a loss of more
than $300 million, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Jamie Baker, an analyst with JPMorgan, said in a recent note to
clients that he expects airline revenue to decline significantly
beginning in the April-June second quarter due to the one-two punch of
costly fuel and a possible recession.