What an utter mess. I have plans next week to fly somewhere on American through Dallas and will be livid if my plans of 1 yr are messed up due to foreseen circumstances . I can understand weather, etc…but this is outrageous.

I agree Barbara, this is utterly unacceptable, especially from a MAJOR airline in todays world… I will never fly American again.

Juice and cookies from the airlines? Kindof like the bread and circuses the government is always dishing out.

“Having two little ones myself with twins on the way, I couldn’t help feel terrible for the Ferreras…” ~Jeff. Wow, Jeff, congratulations!!

As for the flight cancellations - I cannot imagine the frustration that would be with little kids! I hope these cancellations lead to repairs that truly make the planes safer. That would be some consolation for these families who have had their flights cancelled.

Barb

Like all other financially strapped airlines, AA says they don’t cut corners on safety & maintenance. Oh yeah? If that is so, then: (1) why haven’t they been doing these inspections over past few years instead playing catch-up in one week? (2) If due diligence requires a 3-man inspection team, then why wasn’t that done a few weeks ago when AA did these same inspections? Oh, but remember, they don’t cut corners on safety and maintenance…Don’t believe them for a minute.

Oberstar’s criticism coincides with greater scrutiny of a number of regulators and the industries they oversee, including Wall Street firms. this is a commentary regarding the newest flight delays. We elected these folks to Lower Gas Prices ….not in 10 years..but NOW..they fined this air line what?? 10 million…NOW THEY WILL GET TO USE IF FOR MORE PORK. AND THESE FOLKS WILL HAVE TO JUST GO WITHOUT..

WHILE AMERICA HAS AN EXCELLENT FLIGHT REPUTATION FOR SAFETY..AND THE REST OF THE WORLD IS LAGGING BEHIND..THE DEMOCRATS JUST CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN…NOW THEY HAVE MADE THE BRIT’S HAPPY..THEY HAVE FRIGHTENED AN AMERICAN COMPANY INTO CAUSING SUCH CHAOS…

I cannot wait for the rest of America to get a taste of a One Party Country like the Socialist one we have here in Massachusetts! higher taxes, higher tolls and do not worry about taking off on an airline…IN MASS YOU ARE LUCKY TO MAKE IT TO THE AIRPORT ON TIME… AND IF YOU GET BACK HERE TO BOSTON YOU MAY GET EITHER DROWNED IN A TUNNEL OR HIT BY A TUNNEL ROOF COLLAPSE!

MR. OBERSTAR AND MS. PELOSI ARE HARD AT WORK…KEEPING US ALL BROKE…WHEN IS THAT GAS PRICE GOING DOWN? WE ELECTED THEM TO GET CHEAP GAS..AND YES, HEATING OIL.. AND THEY HAVE FAILED..I PREDICT THAT WITHIN A FEW SHORT YEARS WE WILL HAVE LOST EVERY REMNANT OF MANUFACTURING LEFT HERE..NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAT OR COOL THEIR FACTORIES.. PERHAPS THEY WANT US TO BE EQUAL TO FRANCE IN HEAT WAVES!!

I was flying this weekend on Southwest (before AA cancellations). I overheard SW employees talking and they were inferring that AA and others would be cancelling flights on the pretext of faulty airplanes, when in fact they were cancelling to save money on fuel. Could be just idle talk amongst employees or contain a kernel of truth.

The fact that these planes have bad wiring and the carriers must be forced to repair them has me very uneasy. First, I will never fly American again now. Why would anyone fly American knowing they operate planes that are not in perfect shape. I expect my flights are always inspected and if anything is not perfect, the carrier fixes the problem. I now know this is not true and American airlines along with others have been jeapordizing our safely for many years. Screww them. I cannot believe they fly planes in a compromised condition and knowing that woring could be better.
Grouding all these flights must hurt them but if they were doing the right thing all along, they wouldn’t be grounded and the problems would of been fixed long ago.

People can complain about American all they want, but the fact of the matter is that the FAA signed off on the repair procedure done by American. It was only after the FAA rep for Southwest (and American) got in trouble for lax inspections that this became a problem at American. Sounds like the FAA is trying to deflect the scrutiny they were receiving onto the airlines. American is only trying to hit a moving target set up by the FAA.

I think it needs to be reported that all major airlines (except USAir) has their maintenance performed overseas by third party vendors. America West uses companies in Central and South America, as do all other carriers. Those maintenance reports are then signed off by airline supervisors. We need to check on these “maintenance issues” and locate the real problem, not just the paperwork.

Not sure where you got your info Cindy, but AA has maintenance facilities at DFW, TUL, MCI, etc. CO primary maintenance is at HOU and IAH. UA is at SFO and IND. Indeed airlines that fly international routes need to have vendor contracts oversees, but

OOps..

A-D checks are done in the good ol’ USA by the majors. America West is no longer in existence since the US Airways merger.

I’m a Platinum frequent flyer on CO. I fly every week to the tune of 200K miles + per year. I avoided AA before and will continue to now.

Solution: a World-class High-speed rail system (bullet trains). (GAO-02-185)

The fact is the FAA has egg on their face. American is just the victim of it. There was never anything wrong with the original correction. Basically came down to “the zipties are supposed to be 1″ apart and you have them 1.05″ apart. Seriously it boils down to nothing!

Jack I like bullet trains but that’s not a viable solution to a business person needing to be on the other side of the country the same day. I have left my house in Texas for a meeting in Manhattan and been back in my own bed the same night. No train is capable of that. Engineer I agree that the FAA has been remarkably over-zealous. The way AA had handled the event is nothing short of disgusting however. J

Comment by Jesse : “Jack I like bullet trains but that’s not a viable solution to a business person needing to be on the other side of the country the same day:”

Correct; maybe not for that flight. But maybe as a backup for the problems we are having now or for a catastrophe.

However, for regional flights (500 miles or so) it is much faster, reliable, safer. Planes only average 65MPH (door-to-door) at that distance.

Most importantly, it could relieve the airport/ system of over 50% of flights; thus, relieving congestion (delays) for origin/ destination (long distance).

It would also provide healthy competition; in other countries, rail beats out planes.

It costs about 1/3 that of all airport expansions, while employing millions.

There are many other benefits also…

“I agree that the FAA has been remarkably over-zealous. The way AA had handled the event is nothing short of disgusting however”

The FAA was on the hotseat and are finally doing its job; we are the victims of the monopoly of air travel in the US.

J

I wonder what will happen next week when the top managment at AA is scheduled to get their millions of dollars of bonuses?? Think they will turn it down?? No. As a retired AA FA I am so glad I retired last year. They have taken millions in bonus money the past 2 years when they should have put that toward customer service, aircraft maintenence, and to pay back all their emploees for the 30%+ paycuts we took to save the company. What goes around comes around and they are getting just what they deserve. Please don’t take it out on the employees. This is managements fault.

1. American Airlines, the largest MD-80 operator, opted several years ago to issue a Company Service Bulletin which required firmly attaching wire bundles in the right wheel well of American’s 300 MD-80s thereby avoiding any possible wire chaffing over time that in turn might spark a fire.
2. The FAA later adopted the AA procedure as an FAA Directive so that all airlines would follow the same procedure.
3. The wire bundles were to be secured by ties every 1”. The 1” separation was conservative and somewhat arbitrary.
4. Back then, the airlines were given 18 months to implement the new FAA Directive.
5. The flight cancellations by several airlines two weeks ago were to inspect the wire bundle and their ties.
6. American inspected all their MD-80’s and found no sign of chaffing on any of their planes.
7. The FAA in a subsequent inspection found that the distance between ties were in some cases more than 1”: in some cases 1-1/4”; in some cases as much as 1-1/2”.
8. American was required by the FAA to immediately ground all of its MD-80s, causing the approximately 3,000 flight cancellations.

This was nothing more than the FAA “covering its ass” after a particularly embarrassing congressional hearing?

As a retired USAF Pilot and a retired aerospace Aircraft Systems Safety Engineer, this is nothing more than the FAA exerting itself into a matter to prove they can. These wire bundle ties are not a problem and could be “fixed” in a Time Compliance Tech Order change. Grounding AA’s entire fleet of MD-80 type aircraft is as I said, the FAA exerting itself. Once again our government is costing the business world millions of dollars for no reason. Aircraft are grounded because of safety of flight…..not spacing of ties on wire bundles. What a joke.

I bet it is the gas prices that are keeping these flights and others grounded.

AA operates one of the oldest fleets and the MD-80’s are approaching 25 years old (earliest deliveries)….they were to replace these a long time ago….penny pinching has finally caught up with them…..

DO NOT FLY AMERICAL AIRLINES. THESE CARRIERS MUST BE FORCED TO THINK ABOUT SAFETY BEFORE MONEY. WHY DIDN”T THEY GO ABOVE AND BEYOND IN FIXING THIS WHEN THEY HAD 18 MONTHS. SOME SAY THE FAA IS JUST RATTLING ITS SABRE.

Do other countries have these issues, or is it just the US?

The FAA is in trouble at the Capitol, and is trying hard to make itself look functional. This is all about the FAA wanting AA to kiss it’s ring and say “Simon Says!” This AD was completed years ago by AA and the fact is that the FAA RARELY inspects airplanes. Their usual inspection revolves around paperwork shuffling, and they depend upon the expertise of the certificated maintenance repair stations to perform their jobs according to proper procedures. It is nearly impossible for them to PROPERLY inspect the work done on aircraft since the systems are too complex for them to understand ABSOLUTLEY EVERYTHING.

AA is being whipped only to make the FAA look like they are doing thier job. What a shame!

Want a real time report from a platinum member who is being abused by American Airlines? Contact me!

Oberstar was manipulated by the union that represents the sniveling FAA inspectors who testified before his committee last week. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialist union, PASS, has been at odds with FAA management for years and have been searching for a way to smear management. Well they just pulled it off in a spectacular way, and are smugly representing themselves as the defenders of safety for the traveling public. In fact, they are a typical self serving federal union that could care less about the public or the viability of the airlines. This is a pathetic, dangerous ruse! PASS took a tiny issue, spun it up with Oberstar, who then stupidly chose to grandstand against FAA management. To FAA management’s discredit, they backed down before Oberstar’s committee and launched a huge “program” that has the PASS union laughing on the sidelines. The airlines are stuck in the middle…how can they say they’re against “safety”. The PASS union and Oberstar are destroying this industry over the spacing of a few zip ties. I’m a recently retired FAA manager who witnessed this developing over the past couple of years. Rest assured this is EXACTLY how this transpired. Where’s the investigative press on this?

As a retired airline captian ,I can tell you that American had plenty of time to comply with the Faa’s Directive. Just comply with AD as it is written and press on….they DID NOT…

I GUESS THE FAA THINKS THEY’VE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE TO THE AIRLINES AND THE ECONOMY.

Flying in to my local airport in WV is a bit scarey, it is a small port, but it does maintanance flying out you know the plane is repaired! a few years ago the big scare and problem was congestion, planes taking over to close together I still cringe everytime a bigger plane takes off before my flight because some smaller ones were getting caught in the draft of the earlier one and crashing.