More Delays on the Way

From the Cafferty File: "An FAA whistle-blower testified before Congress today that his bosses repeatedly ignored his reports of inspection requirement violations by Southwest Airlines. He also says his bosses, who were leaned on by Southwest to remove him from the case, knew the planes were flying illegally and did nothing about it. You may remember a congressional investigation found that Southwest kept dozens of aircraft flying without mandatory inspections, and it turns out some of them had possibly dangerous cracks. The airline is facing a record $10.2 million fine. There's more: an American Airlines pilots' group says regulators have mostly ignored several dangerous incidents where cockpit windshields have shattered during flight, sometimes even forcing emergency landings. The pilots claim these safety issues exist because the FAA is too close to the airlines. For its part, the FAA says 4 U.S. airlines -- it doesn't name them -- are being investigated for failure to comply with federal aviation regulations. A government agency that knows of four airlines that are not in compliance with FAA regulations but it won't say which airlines? That is beyond outrageous. Officials say three of the airlines have missed inspection deadlines. But, the FAA still insists people should feel safe despite all this. They say, "Flying is safer today than at anytime in the past." Here's my question to you: How safe do you feel when you fly?"

Southwest Airlines flight attendants are blasting an airline practice that they say results in a "fake flight attendant" on many flights. In typical Southwest fashion, attendants have harnessed their sense of humor to criticize the new policy, filming a music video with a jazz singer crooning the Cole Porter song It's De Lovely, but with new lyrics that complain "this is not our company at its best, this is not the culture of Herb's Southwest." Southwest typically assigns three attendants to each flight, each assigned to "A" "B" or "C" positions depending on their responsibilities. A fourth position, dubbed the "D" attendant, has traditionally been assigned to trainees to gain in-flight experience, according to officials with the Transport Workers Union, which represents Southwest attendants. But in recent months, the airline has begun assigning supervisors and managers to the "D" position -- a move that union officials say violates their contract, creates safety problems and confuses customers. "A supervisor is not a flight attendant," said Thom McDaniel, president of TWU Local 556, in a recent interview. "Our members are very upset about this, it feels like fake flight attendants are being put in there to spy on them." The union has filed a grievance over the issue, McDaniel said, and debuted the music video, titled Not D-LUVly, Wednesday on its Internet site. "We're doing this Southwest style, having some fun with the letter D," he said. An airline spokeswoman declined to comment on the dispute. Southwest is renowned for its friendly labor relations. But attendants have been the exception in recent years, with a bitter contract dispute that dragged on for four years and helped push then-CEO Jim Parker into retirement. A new contract was finally completed in 2004 with hefty raises. Since then, executives have worked to repair relations with attendants, and union leaders have generally had positive things to say about Gary Kelly, who replaced Parker. But McDaniel said the latest brouhaha risks raising attendants' ire once again. That could be a serious issue for Southwest, whose friendly flight attendants are a linchpin of its famously good customer service. "Union protest goes video" By TREBOR BANSTETTER Star-Telegram Staff Writer http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/203468.html

Airlines are still trying to get back on track after Thursday's winter storm caused dozens of delays and cancellations. NECN's Latoyia Edwards joins us from Logan Airport with the latest.

DALLAS - American Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights Wednesday, more than one-third of its schedule, as it spent a second straight day inspecting the wiring on some of its jets — the same issue that caused it to scrub hundreds of flights two weeks ago. The nation's biggest airline had already canceled 460 flights on Tuesday, stranding thousands of travelers. Federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, although the airline says passenger safety was never jeopardized. Airline officials said the flights would have averaged more than 100 passengers, meaning that more than 100,000 travelers could have been left scrambling to book new flights. Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said the cancellations could continue beyond Wednesday as the airline works on its fleet of 300 MD-80 jets. By Wednesday morning, only 30 of the planes were back in service. American uses the MD-80s mostly on mid-range flights, particularly from hub airports in Dallas and Chicago. Wagner said 208 of Wednesday's cancellations would occur at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and 138 at Chicago O'Hare. At New York's LaGuardia Airport, hundreds of passengers stood in a check-in line. The airline offered free doughnuts, coffee and orange juice, but there were few takers. Bishop Bernard Jordan, a Harlem minister, was in a first-class line trying to catch a flight to Atlanta, where he was scheduled to preach Wednesday night. "It would have been good to know in advance," said Jordan, who said he has 4 million frequent-flier miles with American and flies to Atlanta every other week. "I would have booked with another airline." At Dallas-Fort Worth, Mike Barnes was wearing the same clothes he had on Tuesday morning when he left San Diego for a business trip to Indianapolis. The trip was interrupted by the sudden midday announcement of cancellations, leading Barnes to call the airline "totally unprepared." "If it was safe enough to fly from San Diego to Dallas, why isn't it safe enough to fly from Dallas to Indianapolis?" asked the 53-year-old information technology consultant. The airline issued a fresh apology Wednesday from Gerard Arpey, the chief executive of American and its parent, AMR Corp. Arpey said American "will do whatever it takes" to help affected customers, including compensating those who stayed overnight somewhere other than their final destination. The Fort Worth-based carrier said it would put displaced travelers on other American flights or those operated by competitors. Wagner said that because the delays were "within our control" and not weather-related, American was offering meals, lodging and ground transportation to those affected. American operates about 2,300 daily flights, more than one-third with MD-80s. It was American's second bout with mass cancellations in less than two weeks for failing to meet the same wiring rules set by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is cracking down on airlines after admitting its inspectors were too lax last year with Southwest Airlines Co. Since the FAA began looking more closely at airlines' compliance with safety directives, there have been cancellations at Southwest, Delta Air Lines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines. The agency levied a $10.2 million civil penalty against Southwest for using planes that had missed inspections for cracks in the fuselage. This week, FAA inspectors looked at 19 of American's planes and found that 15 violated regulations on bundling of wires in the wheel well, said FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere. According to American, the issue revolves around the spacing and direction of cords used to secure bundles of wires in the planes' auxiliary hydraulic systems. The airline said flight safety was never compromised, but began yanking planes out of service around mid-afternoon Tuesday so that wiring bundles could be inspected and stowed properly in the wheel wells. The cancellations and resulting loss of revenue could hardly come at a worse time for American, which is facing high fuel prices and a weakening economy that could hurt demand for travel. AMR is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings in two weeks, and analysts are forecasting a loss of more than $300 million, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Jamie Baker, an analyst with JPMorgan, said in a recent note to clients that he expects airline revenue to decline significantly beginning in the April-June quarter due to the one-two punch of costly fuel and a possible recession.

The story of flight SL1912. A short film showing many individual flights to form one journey,one single fear;flying Film: Serge Lipski http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SergeLipski Music: Angus and Julia stone http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AngusAndJuliaStone 'There are two critical points in every aerial flight' AT RISK: Air Atlantique Air Scotland Air Southwest Astraeus Atlantic Airlines Aurigny Air Services BAC Express Airlines Blue Islands bmi bmibaby bmi Regional British Airways British Airways Boeing 747BA Connect British Mediterranean Airways British North West Airlines Castle Air City Star Airlines Club 328 Coyne Airways DHL Air Eastern Airways easyJet Euromanx European Aviation Air Charter European Executive Excel Airways First Choice Airways Flightline flybe FlyFirst Flyglobespan Flyjet GB Airways Global Supply Systems Highland Airways Isles of Scilly Skybus Jet2.com Loganair Lydd Air Monarch Airlines MyTravel Airways ScotAirways Skydrift Air Charter Sky Value Limited Thomas Cook Airlines Thomsonfly Titan Airways Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin GalacticABX Air Air Cargo Carriers Air East Air Evac Air Florida Air Gumbo Air Midwest Airnet Express AirNow Air Sunshine Air Tahoma AirTran Airways Air Transport International Air Vegas Air Wisconsin Alaska Airlines Alaska Central Express Alaska Seaplane Service Allegiant Air Aloha Airlines Alpine Air Express American Airlines American Airlines Boeing 777American Connection American Eagle Airlines Ameriflight Amerijet International Ameristar Jet Charter Arctic Circle Air Service Arctic Transportation Services Arrow Air Astar Air Cargo ATA Airlines Atlantic Island Air Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlas Air Baron Aviation Services Bemidji Airlines Bering Air Berry Aviation Bighorn Airways Big Island Air Big Sky Airlines Blackstar Airlines Blue Moon Aviation Boston-Maine Airways (Pan Am Clipper Connection (Pan Am III)) Cape Air Capital Cargo International Airlines Cargo 360 Caribbean Sun Casino Express Airlines Castle Aviation Centurion Air Cargo Chalk's Ocean Airways Champion Air Chautauqua Airlines Colgan Air Colorado Airways Comair CommutAir Continental Airlines Continental Airlines Boeing 777Continental Express Contract Air Cargo Corporate Air Critical Air Medicine Crystal Airways CSA Air Custom Air Transport Delta Air Lines Diamond International Airlines Empire Airlines Eos Airlines Era Aviation Evergreen International Airlines Everts Air Cargo ExpressJet Airlines Express.Net Airlines Express One International Falcon Air Express FedEx Express Fine Air Flight Alaska Flight Express Flight International Florida Coastal Airlines Florida West International Airways FlyHawaii Airlines Focus Air Cargo Freedom Airlines Freight Runners Express Frontier Airlines Frontier Flying Service FS Air Service Gemini Air Cargo go! GoJet Airlines Grand Aire Express Grand Canyon Airlines Grant Aviation Great Lakes Airlines Gulfstream International Airlines Hageland Aviation Services Harris Air Hawaiian Airlines Horizon Air IBC Airways I-Jet Caribbean Inland Aviation Services Island Air JetBlue Airways Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Kalitta Air Kalitta Charters Kenmore Air Key Lime Air Kitty Hawk Aircargo LAB Flying Service Louisiana Airways Lynden Air Cargo Lynx Air International Maxjet Merlin Airways Mesa Airlines Mesaba Airlines Mexus Airlines Miami Air International MidAtlantic Airways Mid-Atlantic Freight Midwest Airlines Midwest Connect Mokulele Airlines Mountain Air Cargo Murray Air Nantucket Airlines New England Airlines North American Airlines Northern Air Cargo Northwest Airlines Omni Air International Pace Airlines Pacific Wings Pen Air Piedmont Airlines Pinnacle Airlines Polar Air Cargo Primaris Airlines PSA Airlines RegionsAir Republic Airlines Rio Airways Ryan International Airlines Salmon Air Scenic Airlines Shuttle America Sierra Pacific Airlines Skagway Air Service Skybus Airlines Skylink Airways SkyValue Skyway Airlines Skyway Enterprises SkyWest Southern Air Southwest Airlines Spirit Airlines Sportsflight Airways Sun Country Airlines Sundance Air Sunship1 Airlines Sunworld International Airlines Superior Aviation Swift Air Tampa Cargo Ted Tradewinds Airlines TradeWinds Cargo Transatlantic International Airlines Trans-Florida Airlines Trans States Airlines United Airlines Boeing 777United Airlines United Express United Parcel Service USA 3000 Airlines US Airways USA Jet Airlines ValuJet Victory Air Transport Virgin America Wagner Airways West Air West Coast Airlines Westward Airways Wiggins Airways Wings of Alaska World Airways Xtra Airways Zantop International Airlines

for inspections 20 minutes ago CHICAGO - United Airlines temporarily grounded 11 percent of its fleet Wednesday, while it tested dozens of Boeing 777s to make sure components of a cargo fire suppression system were operating effectively, the carrier said. ADVERTISEMENT The Chicago-based airline said testing will be done on 52 777s during the next 36 hours. Spokeswoman Jean Medina said 12 planes had been inspected and cleared to fly by midmorning. The carrier has about 460 aircraft. Delays were being reported in Japan and Hawaii Wednesday morning and the airline warned passengers to be prepared for other delays and cancellations as it proceeded with the inspections. United, a subsidiary of UAL Corp., said a review of maintenance records showed a test on one of five bottles in the fire suppression system hadn't been performed. The airline alerted authorities. The planes, which have a so-called "intuitive" self-diagnostic system that would have detected any malfunction with the fire suppression system, mostly fly international routes and from the carrier's major hubs. United carried out unscheduled maintenance on seven of its Boeing 747 jets last month but found no safety-related issues. The Federal Aviation Administration has been checking maintenance records at all domestic airlines after revelations surfaced about missed safety inspections at Southwest Airlines Co.

According to a report on CNN.com, Southwest Airlines flew "unsafe" planes. Way to go, Southwest! Check out the CNN.com story here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/06/southwest.planes/index.html Here's Southwest's YT channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NutsAbout... And here is Southwest's official blog: http://www.blogsouthwest.com/

Hello on this Thursday, March 27, 2008. I'm Kristin Volk with a UPI Headline Update.The death toll is climbing in Iraq as fighting continues in Basra and other regions. Iraq's government kicked off an offensive in the oil city earlier this week against militia members associated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. The violence has left more than 100 dead and affected the heavily fortified Green Zone where the U.S. embassy has come under fire. It's also threatened to undo a delicate al-Sadr cease-fire that's credited with reducing bloodshed between Sunni and Shiites.Delta Airlines is expected to cancel more flights today while engineers do safety checks. Delta was the second airline to stop several flights from taking off yesterday for the same reason. American Airlines canceled nearly 10 percent of its schedule for inspections. Both airlines are examining wiring in their aircrafts. This issue was sparked by the fact that Southwest Airlines admitted to flying 60 thousand flights recently without required inspections and the FAA didn't ground the planes.Hillary Clinton's positive rating is at a new low. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll says she's at 37 percent now. That's reportedly 8 percentage points lower than two weeks ago. The New York Senator recently admitted making a mistake in claiming she had come under sniper fire during a 1996 trip to Bosnia. Her rival, Senator Barack Obama also saw a slight dip in his positive rating. He's now at 49 percent from 51 percent. The survey was taken after Obama gave a speech last week on race in America and rejected racially charged remarks by his pastor.Space Shuttle Endeavour and its crew are back on the ground after making a successful nighttime landing last night. The shuttle was supposed to land before sunset, but at the last minute, clouds moved in. It was the 22 space shuttle landing in darkness. Endeavour's crew spent 16 days in space, assembling a giant Canadian robot, testing a shuttle repair technique and installing the first piece of a Japanese lab at the international space station.Thanks for watching today's news headline. Join us tomorrow for a weekly wrap-up from the White House.

Southwest Airlines re-affirms their commitment to the U.S.A. and her people. AVENGE!!! American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 77 United Airlines Flight 175 United Airlines Flight 93

Dr. Todd Curtis discusses a proposed $10.2 million dollar fine against Southwest Airlines and how problems with FAA safety inspection process allowed the airline to continue to fly airplanes that were not in compliance with a mandatory safety inspection. Dr. Curtis also discusses the role the FAA played in allowing Southwest to fly out of compliance aircraft, and how subsequent actions by the FAA may ensure that all airline operators may be following the rules but may also inconvenience passengers and undermines their confidence in the FAA.