The Great Airplane Conundrum

[dbt]

I figure this is the best place on DU for me to bring my questions concerning the recent mass grounding of commercial airliners for safety inspections and the handing out of hefty fines for "noncompliance." This Group has many members who see things beyond the pre-packaged "reality" of what we are all told by our TerrorVision sets and the discourse here is generally civil when people go outside the lines. So here's what's tugging at me.

Since WHEN, exactly, has the bu$h regime taken ANY sort of action which would cost giant corporations even a dollar in fines and penalties? Since WHEN in this administration has public safety been ANY sort of concern? Yet hundreds of aircraft have been grounded, thousands of flights have been cancelled by the FAA because the planes might be unsafe? Why is ANY regulatory agency in bu$h-O-Murka suddenly regulating?

You may well point to the FCC's spate of fines for "obscene" TV and radio programming which began with the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl, but my take on that is that it was grandstanding for political gain in coming elections--a little something to massage the "values voters." And it certainly didn't hurt to have some money rolling in from the fines, but these fines were chump change to media octopi like Clear Channel.

No, there's something behind all this airplane-grounding and flight-cancelling. I reject the notion outright that this government suddenly gives a tinker's damn about public safety. Everything, every single thing that the bu$h regime has done since taking office (literally), has been done with an eye toward helping big business get bigger--with getting more and more wealth into fewer and fewer hands. Now, all of a sudden, giant airline corporations are being forced to refrain from making money? I don't think so, Tim!

Would you all please help me see into this? What the Funk is really going on here? Of course, my first thought is MONEY--that the airlines can somehow benefit by this apparent cutoff of their commerce, but how does that work?

Please enlighten me?

[I Have A Dream]

1. Oooo... very good question! I hadn't thought of that, but you're absolutely right.

I hope that you get some responses. :)

[Celebration]

2. interesting topic

But it probably belongs in Economy or 911. My guess is that it is a kind of power play at the FAA, between the ones that are cozy with the airlines and the ones that want the rules enforced. In this instance, the people who want the rules enforced won. It was probably a semi blackmail situation. "If we don't rein in these airlines now, then I am going to go before Congress and expose the way we ignored................" The pilots, I know, have been pretty upset about this issue. The pilots may have been pressuring the FAA.

In no way, shape or form does this benefit the airlines, that I can tell.

On the other hand, maybe it has something to do with Boeing losing that big contract awhile back. I can't quite figure out the conspiracy scenario with that one, but maybe someone else can. It is Boeing airplanes that are being inspected. I think it is a real long shot that this is the reason.

I wonder if there is anything astrological now having to do with transportation.

[Why Syzygy]

5. Transportation

That's what I was thinking while watching this report on the news last night. Could be something up with Mercury? I was going to google for something about Mercury's current travels.

[dbt]

6. I thought of posing the question elsewhere,

but DU, in the last few years, has become a snarkbed of nastiness and deliberate discussion derailment when one dares to stray from acceptable thought patterns. I figured I'd put it here where people have abilities and will use them.

The action by the FAA is, to me, so remarkable as to be suspicious.

Cheers!

[Celebration]

8. Know what you mean

In general, I am at least cautious, and often suspicious. But sometimes, Occam's Razor really rules. I haven't seen a convincing conspiracy theory here, other than they took too long to get to this place.

[tanyev]

3. I've wondered that, too.

Maybe some big shots have some kind of vendetta or revenge thing going on. Somebody at FAA needing to show what they are capable of.

[PinkTiger]

4. I have family in the airline business

And I asked them what was the deal. Notice that Continental Airlines has not had this problem.
That company sold its older planes to Delta. They don't have MD-80s.
The problem is that American, Delta and others have been cutting corners on maintenance to save money. Those planes, the older ones, use a lot more fuel than the newer ones, too. So they have been suffering.

If I were flying, I'd not want to fly a company that cut corners so drastically.

In my view nothing sinister is going on here behind the scenes. In fact, we are fortunate that the problems are being fixed.

[stellanoir]

7. It's odd

I've been mildly distracted by our aging fleet for the past several weeks. Although I've not flown in a very long time.

Pretty much, I feel as though it's in part, largely "fuelish."

But it's more than that.

I've an older second cousin of my mum's generation who used to be a mechanic and is now retired. Their retirement benefits have been entirely slashed. They do a slew of charity work nonetheless. But they've gotten really screwed.

[LiberalEsto]

9. There's an orange alert level right now

We flew from Washington to New orleans and back this past week. The PA systems in a couple of airports announced the security alert level was orange and warned people about accepting packages, etc. I don't know if that's normal or if something's up.

[Celebration]

10. annoying, but normal

Hope your flights weren't canceled!

[LiberalEsto]

11. No cancellations

Thanks for asking


I guess it will be Code Orange until the occupier of the White House is finally replaced by an honestly elected President.