Fri, Nov 13, 2009
Meeting Closed To Public And Media
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
called a closed-door meeting Thursday that he hopes will be the
first step towards "fixing" the airline industry. He invitation to
aviation stakeholders says the forum was organized at the request
of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department. It was not open to
the public, or the press.
The Associated Press reports that Ed Wytkind, the Trades
Department President, said he hopes the Obama Administration will
create a "blue ribbon panel" to look into the industry, which he
says has become dysfunctional, and recommend solutions. He said
that should "probably" include new federal regulation of the
airline industry.
Some say that deregulation has offered passengers lower fares,
but at the cost of reduced safety. AP says a report from a watchdog
organization found that nine major airlines outsouce 70% of their
maintenance work, and some of that is offshore where it is
difficult for U.S. inspectors to guarantee the quality of the
work.
Still, Pat Friend, president of the Association of Flight
Attendants told AP that she is not necessarily in favor of the
kinds of regulations that were in effect prior to 1978. She said
some "tweaking" of regulations might be necessary. Airlines
contend that they are still heavily regulated, and taxed.
While the media was shut out of the meeting, the Business Travel
Coalition (BTC) Thursday released prepared remarks from its
presentation at the forum. "If cheap intercity mass air
transportation was the only objective advocates of deregulation
sought to achieve, then success has been realized," the
organization said in the statement.
"The American people deserve a little respect for their ability
to handle the truth and make rational choices," BTC said in the
release. They called for a debate over air transportation public
policy objectives, "even if it's 30-some years overdue."
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