Between A Rock and an Inspection Place

American Airlines took a bold step this week in announcing the cancellation (or think of it as a 'prolonged delay') of many flights in order to inspect their fleet of aging MD-80 aircraft. The reason that American, and other carriers operating the MD-80 such as Delta and Alaska Airlines, chose to cancel flights was due to concerns over the maintenance standards of these aircraft. After a series of 'incidents' in which Boeing 737 aircraft operated at Southwest Airlines were discovered to have been approved for flight despite being in less than perfect shape has raised concerns in the airline industry that these planes may not be safe despite Superman's protestations that "statistically speaking, it (flying) is still the safest way to travel."

While I admire American, Delta and the others for taking the steps necessary to ensure and reassure passengers that the flights they take are perfectly safe, I can't help but feel that they are hurting themselves a little bit too. The reason I say this is because it's one of those Catch-22, you're-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't situations that will neither help nor improve the opinion many people have of airlines. Often times, moves like this in any industry are reactive as opposed to pro-active. Remember when the bridge collapsed in the midwest late last year? The immediate reaction across the nation was that our nation's bridges are not safe. Our infrastructure is collapsing at the seams. An immediate investigation was launched and immediately there were expressions of shock and awe at the fact that most of the bridges and overpasses in our country were in far worse shape than people anticipated. The reason? Well prior to this point there was no reason to make such inspections all the time was there? I mean no bridge had collapsed like that before so why bother?

Same attitude applies to the airline industry as well but it is often looked at with much more scrutiny and public outcry. When parts of airplanes fall out of the sky, it is cause for notice. I think most of us who fly would feel safer knowing that the plane we're sitting in has been repaired and maintained to top standards. I mean this isn't a case where we can simply pull the plane over to the shoulder and let the plane sort itself out. We have little control over the situation so it's a little comforting to assume that the plane is safe. Sure there is no such thing as a hundred percent guarantee that there may not be some bug here or there but one has to assume that precautions have been taken. In this case, despite being more of a reactive course of action, I think they are doing the right thing by cancelling flights for further inspections.

Of course passengers aren't happy about it and with good reason. For many people who scheduled their vacations far in advance, it's frustrating to arrive at the airport and be told that this and all other flights going to your destination are being cancelled. Gone are the days where air travel was a rare and luxurious thing. It's so common now that it's probably the prime form of travel for many people. It no longer really suffices to pile everyone in the family car and go off for a vacation within a short driving distance. So the fact that passengers are irate is not surprising. Still, these same passengers continue to express their ire when they hear that inspections were properly conducted on the aircraft they are due to fly. So either they toss explatives for sitting in an 'unsafe' plane or they toss them for having their flight cancelled. It's true what they say, you can't please all of the people all of the time. In this case you can't please anyone at all.