SK not affected by American Airlines dilemma claim officials
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- FOLLOWING the cancellation of nearly 3300 flights from April 8th-12th due to a safety violation in the MD-80 series of Boeing aircraft, some passengers of American Airlines’ (AA) flights to and from St. Kitts have raised concerns about their future travel plans.
“St. Kitts shouldn’t have anything to worry about as long as the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) doesn’t go after the 737s or 757s like they did the MD-80s,” one employee of the U.S. based corporation told SKNVibes.com under condition of anonymity.
“It’s hard to say one way or the other though because we didn’t even know about the cancellations at my hub until we heard about them on the news. That’s how fast the whole thing happened.”
Trouble for American Airlines began on Tuesday April 8th when the FAA announced that wiring within the MD-80s’ wheel wells were not spaced far enough apart, creating a potential fire hazard. Though AA took immediate action in an attempt to minimize cancelled flights, they ultimately had to ground 300 aircraft, causing an estimated financial loss of tens of millions of dollars.
“American really went above and beyond what the FAA was requiring to make sure their planes were safe,” said Hugh Mallilieu, General Manager of the American hub in St. Kitts. “It cost them a lot of money, but sometimes that’s how this business goes.”
When asked if any of the flights to and from St. Kitts had been or would be affected because of the repairs, Mallilieu said “not at all.” He further stated that the 700 series of aircraft would likely be unaffected by the FAA inspections, having been fully inspected two years ago. ~~Adz:Right~~
“Inspections are an ongoing process, so you never know when these things will come up, but we are confident that our fleet fully meets the FAA’s standards,” said the General Manager.
The American Eagle aircrafts (Embraer 135, 140 or 145) used for travel throughout the Diaspora and to and from San Juan were not affected by the FAA findings.
An estimated 140,000 passengers had to be rerouted due to the delays and Gerard Arpey, the Chief Executive of American Airlines, issued several apologies for any customer inconvenience.
Though American Airlines was most affected by the FAA’s recent increase in air safety inspections, several other major carriers, including Southwest, Delta and United Airlines, also had to cancel a number of flights over the past two weeks.
