FEDERAL AVIATION AUTHORITY

Analysis of the Decisions Taken By Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

Analysis of the Decisions Taken By Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

Introduction

In order to analyze the given case, I am going to write a critique on the decision taken by Federal Aviation Authority. In April, 2008, FAA has ordered American Airlines to cancel more than 1000 flights that were scheduled in three consecutive days. The reason behind the order given by FAA was, a minor technical fault in wiring caused due to grouping the wires at quarter inch further than the initial safety standards. The frustration of the customers grew when they did not find any connecting flight to make up for the delay.

Analysis of the Decision taken by Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Aviation Administration should ensure the safety of customers but not due to minor technical problems.

On one hand, it is the primary responsibility of airlines to make sure that their planes are repaired according to the standards set by the regulatory authority. The technical problems in one plane cannot be ignored if they impose a direct or indirect threat to survival of the customers. As a matter of the fact, precaution is better than cure. It is always a safe option to check the technical faults before flying because if the plane crashes it results in serious inspections, lawsuits, negative word of mouth and much more.

However, cancelling and grounding all the flights of American Airlines is not a wise decision. The groups of wires were tied after 1.25 inches, which was not a serious issue. The inspectors of FAA may have identified the technical fault in one plane, but due to that fault all planes must not be grounded. The reason behind this is that if one plane has some technical fault it does not mean that every plane has the same fault.

In addition to this, according to the writing regulation, the airlines have one and a half year to upgrade their standards and correct all the technical faults that were identified during the FAA inspection. Therefore, American Airlines had sufficient time to correct the issue. However, the TWA Flight 800 may have exploded due to minor technical faults. If that is the case, FAA should change the writing policy and amend the repair and maintenance time limit according to the nature of the problem. American Airlines is only accountable to comply with the policy that exists at that time, whether it's right or wrong.

Apart from this, we cannot ignore the customer rights. Even, if the flight is delayed, rescheduled or grounded for technical reasons, the inconveniences should be communicated. American Airlines can not cancel all the flights which were scheduled. Apart from this, boarding should be provided to the customers along with food, in case connecting flights does cancel. Customer has the right to know all information, because the inconveniences caused due to delay can be costly, and cannot be ignore due to petty issues such as wiring.

How FAA can improve Its Process

FAA can only improve its process by improving ...