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."

FMI: www.airlines.org, www.usairways.com, www.aa.com