American Airlines Faces Record $24.2M Fine

(NEWSER) - American Airlines faces FAA fines of more than $7 million for a series of safety and maintenance violations and for deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing, the Wall Street Journal reports. In proposing one of its biggest fines ever, the FAA accuses American of knowingly flying planes that needed safety repairs, including one MD-80 that flew several times in 2007 with a faulty autopilot. More»

Mechanics grumble after airline stops inspections

(NEWSER) - The FAA is questioning American Airlines' new policy on lightning inspections, and its opener is: Why doesn’t American do them anymore? American recently forbade its mechanics from doing extensive lightning damage checks unless pilots suspected a strike, a move designed to reduce delays and cancellations. Big airlines are typically allowed to tweak safety standards, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

Airline blames policy switch for thousands of canceled flights

(NEWSER) - American Airlines blames the FAA for its recent grounding of thousands of flights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The airline is set to deliver a report today that says 3,300 flights were canceled because FAA headquarters reversed a "handshake deal" the airline had with regional aviation officials that was supposed to allow the company to comply with changes in FCC wiring standards on its MD-80 aircraft without cancellations. More»

Safety guidelines unclear and unfair, company says

(NEWSER) - American Airlines is tired of taking the heat for 2,000 flight cancellations that travelers endured last week, the New York Times reports. The once-contrite company is now criticizing the FAA, saying its new safety guidelines are unclear and unfair. “We don’t know what the rules are,” said an American technical crew chief. The company says its safety issues were minor deviations from technical standards that had been considered acceptable for years, and could have been fixed gradually. More»

Company says it expects to be back in full operation by Saturday

(NEWSER) - American Airlines plans to cancel another 570 flights tomorrow, providing little relief for passengers in a jam after three consecutive days of massive snarls, the AP reports. The airline, however, said it was making progress getting wiring up to snuff on its MD-80s and planned to have the entire fleet of 300 planes back in the sky by Saturday, the New York Times notes. More»