With another two stories today about in-flight component failures (Southwest, Sichuan), we are being reminded that airplanes are vulnerable. There is nothing quite like an airline/airplane scary story to catch people’s attention. The industry safety statistics are too good to…
In the US we have seen that airline consolidation has generated a much more robust and profitable industry – which is great for employees, stockholders, and management. But less good has come the way of the paying traveler. The…
Back in 2013, at the US Airways media day, we heard Rob Isom explain some fascinating issues about flight ops. It was a truly educational experience in how to get an airline to focus on the crucial issue of schedule. …
Looking at the history of the commercial airline fleet since 2000, we can see an interesting trend. For several years now the percentage (red line) of parked aircraft has been slowly falling. It dropped sharply last year. This last happened…