Tue, Aug 26, 2008
Now's Not A Good Time To Raise Specter Of Safety
Concerns...
US airlines are already seeing
passenger traffic decline as fares and fees rise, and many will
effect capacity cuts next week. The last thing the airlines need
right now, especially in a week filled with accident reports, is
for pilots to suggest airline policy is creating a risk that
airliners will run out of fuel in the air.
But the unions are all about looking for leverage... and pilot
unions at American and US Airways are accusing management of
bullying pilots into flying with uncomfortably low fuel levels.
Terry Trippler, of Tripplertravel.com, calls it a hot-button
issue which could make travelers switch brands, or simply decide
not to fly at all. "You don't want to mess around with it," he
tells Reuters. It creates a bad public relations image."
As ANN reported, the US Airline Pilots
Association at US Airways has complained pilots have been selected
for mandatory training based on their decisions to add extra fuel
to some flights. The increased weight makes planes more expensive
to fly.
The union says that the training is actually a disciplinary
action. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots at
American, has voiced a similar complaint.
David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association,
denies its a safety issue. "This more union politics than anything
else. All the airlines are doing is asking the crews to be
vigilant."
The FAA says there has been no new trend in emergency landings
to suggest fuel levels are an issue.
So, is this just an attempt by the unions to make things
uncomfortable for their employers? Trippler notes, "pilots
obviously believe it would have an impact on bookings or they
wouldn't be making it public."
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