Is American Airlines charting the right course to fewer flight delays?
If you're flying American Airlines, your pilot may be , according to allegations by the president of the Allied Pilot Association, and pushing the boundaries of safety, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Allegations that American Airlines managers are encouraging pilots to redraw flight plans and to push aircraft to their limits in order to avoid flight delays are raising concerns, despite the airline's insistence that safety is their No. 1 priority.
鈥淭his initiative has the potential to place our licenses and,鈥� said Mr. Carey , USA Today reported,聽鈥渕ore importantly, our passengers at an increased risk."
Airlines such as American lose money when flights are not on time, or if pilots go over the allowable federal work shift hours. According to federal regulations, pilots are only allowed to work between nine and 14 hours at a time, depending on a number of factors, including how many flights a pilot is responsible for each day.
If flying the last scheduled flight in their day means that pilots will go over the legal shift limit, airlines are forced to bring in new pilots or cancel flights, leading to delays. American Airlines has struggled in recent years to keep its flights on time.
In 2015, American Airlines ranked seventh out 10 North American airlines in terms of , with just over 80 percent of American flights arriving and departing on time.
Although American says that it is invested in the safety of both pilots and passengers, critics such as Carey say that rushing flights can be dangerous.
According to Carey, "these last-minute manipulations are used to make a flight appear legal when in reality it's not or is, at best, on the ragged edge."
Federal limits on pilot shifts went into place following the 2009 crash of Colgan Air flight 3407 to Buffalo, N.Y. The crash investigation showed that in the crash, NPR reported. Like many pilots with regional airlines, First Officer Rebecca Shaw said she made too little money to live near Colgan Air鈥檚 Newark hub, and instead saved money by commuting (via airlines) from her parents鈥� home near Seattle on the day of the flight. The pilot of the Colgan Air flight flew from his home in Florida and slept in the crew lounge the night before reporting to work. 聽
More recent airline surveys found that nine out of 10 pilots have at one point dozed off in the cockpit. In May, ABC News reported that NASA statistics indicate that up to 20 percent of airplane crashes are .
Critics like Carey are concerned that American鈥檚 recent request that pilots speed up flight plans will sacrifice safety standards.
"We take safety very seriously,鈥� said American Airlines Group spokesman Joshua Freed, 鈥渁nd we are absolutely committed to working together with our pilots and all other employees."
Delays may be set to get worse, as more people , Bloomberg News reported.聽Boeing released a report this week predicting that airlines will need to hire 617,000 new pilots by 2035, in order to handle the rising number of airline passengers.
While American Airlines hopes to improve its on time arrivals and departures, other airlines and flight hubs are also taking steps to improve their efficiency. Chicago鈥檚 O鈥橦are airport recently announced expansion plans, complete with a terminal upgrade, in order to expand O鈥橦are鈥檚 capacity and reduce chronic delays, 海角大神 reported.
