American Airlines and Good Maintenance?!?

Needless to say we will probably be avoiding any flights run by A/A going forward:

• American Airlines flight 2081 DFW to YYC via MD-80 (Super 80) Saturday November 17th, 2012.

The Boost Pump cover was pretty much dry when we took off. Once up to speed and altitude it became readily apparent that something underneath that cover was not healthy.

A steady bubbling stream of what may have been oil or fuel made is way out of both sides of the cover. The stream further way from us was a lot stronger as evidenced by the walking strips dark colour.

By the time we landed and taxied to the gate the dampness had all but disappeared. This made the situation all the more disconcerting since fuel is bound to evaporate at such a rate while oil would continue to stain and leave residue.

The principle reason A/A will be avoided? After waiting to “deplane” until everyone had left I made a point of mentioning the leak to one of the pilots and received a “meh” kind of response.

The moment union work rules, egos, hurt feelings, company culture, or whatever reason impedes a company’s ability to provide a service or solution safely and efficiently to their customers/clients is the moment that company ceases to represent the best value for customer’s/client’s hard earned cash.

Even if it costs more to fly with another carrier, we can perhaps take comfort in knowing that the extra cost may be put into inspecting and maintaining a modern carrier fleet.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer