Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"We should be able to do the same mission with fewer airplanes, and we don't take away the crews, so the crew ratios will be higher... If you have a higher crew ratio, you get an airplane that is more reliable (and is) available more of the time, and we should be able to make this job easier even if the ops tempo stays high."

Source: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, telling AF crew at Fairchild AFB (WA) on August 22, as he said that the Air Force wouldn't think of cutting 'tanker crew jobs' when the 767-based tankers go online, even though the fleet itself would be cut by more than 3/4, and even though the newer-tech 767 platforms should be expected to be 'more reliable,' at any rate. [Could he save the 767 money ($128 milion each) and just hire more crew? --ed.]

FMI: www.af.mil