US Scareways?

[marmar]

:scared:



AP, via Yahoo!:



US Airways pilots: We're pressured to cut fuel
By JOAN LOWY and CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press Writers
Wed Jul 16, 6:24 PM ET



WASHINGTON - The pilots union for US Airways said Wednesday the airline is pressuring pilots to use less fuel than they feel is safe in order to save money.

US Airways Captain James Ray, a spokesman for the US Airline Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 5,200 pilots, said eight senior pilots and the union have filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The union also paid for a full-page ad in Wednesday's USA Today addressed to "our valued passengers." The ad accuses the airline of "a program of intimidation to pressure your captain to reduce fuel loads."

Ray said soaring jet fuel prices have sent all the airlines scrambling to find ways to cut the weight of airliners because the heavier the plane, the more fuel the plane burns. US Airways, based in Tempe, Ariz., has recently removed movie players, redesigned its meal carts and replaced glassware with plastic to cut weight.

Jet fuel has surpassed labor as the airline industry's greatest expense.

But US Airways recently crossed the line when it ordered eight pilots who requested "an extra 10 to 15 minutes worth of fuel" to attend training sessions, or "check rides," that could put their pilot licenses in jeopardy, Ray said. The pilots were supposed to report for their training sessions Wednesday, he said.

"We feel they're trying to set an example," Ray said. "Captains shouldn't be intimidated into thinking, 'If I say I need this fuel, they may send me for a check ride.' ... Cutting peanuts off the plane, that's one thing. But cutting a captain's fuel level below his comfort, that's another thing." .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080716/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/pilots_fuel_1

[Virginia Dare]

1. Time to nationalize the airlines..

these behemoths can't seem to turn a profit, and will put the bottom line ahead of our safety.

[MercutioATC]

5. Riiiiight...like the government is all about "safety".

[Virginia Dare]

9. So what's your answer..

how does the airline industry stay safe and afloat?

[LSK]

12. it was 9 years ago

Sorry you can no longer remember a FEMA that actually saved lives.

:shrug:

[MercutioATC]

23. I work for the FAA.

I'm well aware of how the government prioritizes safety.

[SidneyCarton]

16. When people who actually care are in charge, yes.

[EnviroBat]

2. Yeah right. Maybe the pilot can cut the engines on final and glide in...

Fuck the airlines. I refuse to fly them anymore. They are making their own bed of shit, let them die in it...

[TahitiNut]

13. Why not? That's what the space shuttle pilots do.

:silly: :dunce:

[EnviroBat]

14. Well, the Space Shuttle was built to glide.

Besides, the Shuttle pilots don't have much of a choice anyway. Rocket engines would blast them out of control. A Jumbo Jet will fall out of the sky like a rock without power...

[TahitiNut]

18. The space shuttle glides like a brick.

:silly:

[exothermic]

20. I flew co-pilot with an American Airlines check captain in a 707 years ago with no power

we shut down the engines over Little Rock and landed in Tulsa with no power at all. "fall out of the sky" is a melodramatic misstatement of reality. :D

[MindPilot]

3. betcha my next paycheck the CEO or upper manager

who ordered this is not a pilot. Which is exactly what's wrong with most of American business. The guys at the top are there to make money, not build cars, or fly airplanes, or help people buy houses.

And this some childish BS. "Training sessions"? Like these guys haven't been able to calculate fuel loads since the first time they climbed into a cockpit and now some bean counter is going to hold a "training session"? Sheesh!

[Marr]

4. Hey Libertarians-- do you see this?

This is how the "free market" magically fixes things. They'll cut and cut until some planes go down, then balance those losses against the cost of operating safely.

[onethatcares]

15. and then they'll rail against those damn lawyers that come in

and get a multi million dollar settlement for each individual on the airliner when it went down........the insanity never stops.

[nam78_two]

17. No kidding.nt

[WritersBlock]

6. I think I'd rather trust the captain's judgment on this. He or she wants fuel? Give it them.

The most useless things in aviation are the altitude above you and the fuel you left in the tank on the ground.

[MindPilot]

7. Actually I think it is "the three most useless things to a pilot are:

the air above you, the runway behind you and the gas that's not in your tanks" :D

[WritersBlock]

8. I shortened it ....

.... to include helicopter pilots ;)

[MindPilot]

11. HAHAHA!! You mean those who stay aloft by

beating the air into submission? :D

[WritersBlock]

19. Yeah, those are the ones :D

[exothermic]

21. Helicopter: The only large machine ever built by humans that is constantly attempting to destroy

itself.

;-)

[JHB]

10. You left out: overpaid, penny-pinching corporate officers n/t

[City of Mills]

22. Hypermiling pilots???

Are we going to see cluster takeoffs, with smaller planes flying in bigger planes' drafts???