DANGEROUS SKIES Airlines and Governments Cutting Corners

Given the parlous state of the world-wide aviation industry at the moment, I am not surprised that crashes such as recent crash events with the various types of aircraft ranging from Airbus A330s to Twin Otters are appearing to have become more common.

In terms of the airlines, the problem is that in order to remain profitable and in so doing to provide a better return for shareholders, all sorts of weird and wonderful cost-cutting measures are being employed in order to achieve those results in the process putting passenger lives at risk.

Some airlines have simply lost sight of the fine balance between passenger comfort and safety and profitability and I would even go so far as to say that, in my view, some airlines should not even be allowed to hold operator certificates these days, that's how bad some of them are.

There are a number of reasons as to why things have proceeded to the current, dangerous levels.

One is the advent of the so-called 'no-frills' airlines.

Hundreds of these operators, half of them knowing little or nothing about aircraft operation and air safety, began to offer very cheap fares worldwide thus taking away business off the so-called 'heritage' airlines.

In the process, service to passengers went down hill as went notions of air safety. Some of these operators survived to become major airlines while others simple disappeared. What was left was a regime of cost-cutting, surcharges, fancy gimmicks and bad operating procedures right across the spectrum with a few exceptions.

The second reason was the rise in fuel costs.

As the price of jet-fuel went up, passenger fares increased, service levels went down as did rigorous safety processes.

A third reason would be the current economic status of various countries and their airlines.

As passenger numbers declines, some airlines went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy only to come out merged with other airlines in so doing cutting staff and maintenance in the process.

Another reason for the chaos would have to be the lack of regulatory willingness to enforce regulatory and safety processes in so doing costing lives. In many countries aviation safety authorities have simply gone to sleep, literally.

And lastly, but more specifically, some airlines had knowledge of problems with computer and other systems contained within their aircraft without rectifying the problems quick enough, in so doing causing the deaths of many.

As to highlight instances I quote recent problems with Airbus A330 aircraft.

What is needed now, in my view, is the establishment of a transparent, accountable and properly funded international safety and operating authority with the powers to revoke airworthiness and operator certificates, and the authority to ban airlines from operating within its areas of responsibility and airspace.

The EU already has a version of such a system but I think that the scope and powers of such an authority needs to go much further and wider as to include a greater number, if not all, countries.

I also think that intending passengers should pay much closer attention as to what the safety record of airlines might or might not be. People should do much more research before they put their lives in the hands of airlines that may or may not be safe to fly with, remembering that the cheapest fares might not always be the best or the safest.

And on that note.

My name is Henk Luf
And That's The Way It Is

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?