Skybus: Third Airline to Close in a Week

Photo from source, AOL News

It has not been a good week for US Airlines. First Aloha, then ATA, now (my hometown) Columbus, Ohio's Skybus is out of business. What the hell is going on? It makes me nervous about The Other Half's airline, but then again there is now less competition I suppose. Still, this can't be good for the economy, and I feel really sorry for all of those employees.

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Skybus Is Third Airline to Close in Week

Low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines is shutting down Saturday and plans to file for bankruptcy protection next week, becoming the latest of the nation's airlines to fall because of rising fuel costs and a slowing economy. . .

Read more at: AOL News

FAA Allowed Airline Inspectors to Cheat?

Photo from source, CNN

More airline news. And this is really scary. Apparently, after the Aloha Airlines "deskinning" accident in 1988, airlines were required to check for fuselage fractures, to prevent a recurrence of this problem. But the FAA has been letting them skip this inspection. Yikes.

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FAA Safety Chief Apologizes For Southwest Errors

The top safety official at the Federal Aviation Administration said officials in FAA's Dallas-Fort Worth regional office erred in not responding more swiftly to maintenance problems at Southwest Airlines ( LUV).

But in testimony before a House panel Thursday, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas Sabatini did not acknowledge a failure in judgment from officials in Washington headquarters with respect to the Southwest incident. . .

Read more at: CNN