Delta, American cancel more flights

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines canceled hundreds more flights today as they continued to inspect wiring on their MD-80 aircraft, and US Airways said it would begin inspecting its fleet of 757 jets.

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines canceled hundreds more flights today as they continued to inspect wiring on their MD-80 aircraft, and US Airways said it would begin inspecting its fleet of 757 jets.

The inspections were having only modest impacts at Southern California airports today. As of midmorning, American had canceled only four departures from Los Angeles International Airport and one from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. Delta said its operations in Southern California were unaffected.

Nationwide, Delta said it expected to cancel about 275 flights today and Friday morning, about 3% of its total daily schedule. American said it expects 132 systemwide cancellations today, about 5% of its primary jet operations.

US Airways couldn’t be reached for comment on whether the inspections of its fleet of 45 Boeing 757s would result in any cancellations. Bloomberg News reported that the carrier is inspecting the aircraft after a wing panel dislodged from a 757 during a March 22 flight and struck the side of the aircraft.

Aviation experts note that the flurry of maintenance inspections and flight cancellations comes as the U.S. airline fleet ages. Experts said the airlines’ decision to voluntarily ground planes for inspections didn’t signal that they were unsafe. But the episode is the latest indication that a combination of aging aircraft and schedule reductions are leaving the industry with fewer options.

U.S. airlines, beset by financial woes that have forced them to postpone capital investments, operate some of the oldest fleets in the world, noted Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group.

Older aircraft need more upkeep, which can result in more downtime.

“This isn’t a safety issue,” he said. “But reliability is becoming a concern due to the age of the fleet.” And with fewer planes, the carriers also are hard-pressed to re-book passengers onto other flights when there are cancellations for inspections or other reasons.

Maintenance issues have been high profile at America’s airports for weeks as carriers scramble to bring maintenance inspections up to date after a recent Federal Aviation Administration crackdown. On March 6, the FAA assessed a $10.2-million fine against Southwest Airlines.

Since then United Airlines, American Eagle, American and Delta have conducted voluntary inspections, and more may be ahead.

The latest round of inspections and cancellations began Wednesday, when American was forced to cancel 318 flights as it inspected wiring bundles on its MD-80 jetliners. The inspections follow an audit of aircraft maintenance records by the FAA.

“It’s good to know that they’re taking precautions, but I’m still nervous that there are problems in the first place,” said Amy Isenberg of Los Angeles, who was waiting for an American flight to Nashville on Wednesday. American has more flights into and out of LAX than any other carrier.

“This was not related to an incident or issue that would have endangered passengers,” American spokesman Tim Wagner said, adding that the inspections were carried out in cooperation with the FAA.

Among big U.S. carriers, American operates the second-oldest fleet, with an average age of 14 years, according to a new study by AirlineForecasts, a Washington-based consulting firm. Many of American’s 300 MD-80s were built in the late 1980s, according to the study.

Northwest Airlines has the nation’s oldest fleet of planes, with an average age of about 20 years, the study found.

Flying older planes puts U.S. carriers at a disadvantage when competing with foreign carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa that are adding new planes at a faster pace, said Vaughn Cordle, chief analyst at AirlineForecasts.

Aging planes burn more fuel — an important consideration as oil prices hover near record highs — and lack many of the amenities passengers demand, such as state-of-the-art entertainment systems.

American carriers “can’t compete on the global playing field given the kind of low-cost competition coming to our shores with newer fleets,” Cordle said.

The U.S. has recently entered into so-called open skies agreements with the European Union, Australia and other nations.

The pacts, which open the world’s major airports to more competition, will make it easier for U.S. carriers to enter foreign markets and clear the way for more foreign airlines to offer service to more destinations in the United States.

The effect of pulling airplanes out of service for unscheduled maintenance inspections was demonstrated two weeks ago when Southwest had to ground dozens of planes while they were inspected for fuselage cracks.

The inspections forced the carrier to cancel 126 flights.

American Eagle, a corporate sister of American Airlines, later grounded 25 planes and canceled a handful of flights while inspection paperwork was updated.

And United Airlines reinspected instruments on seven of its 747 jumbo jets, although no flights were canceled.

The flurry of maintenance issues also has focused attention on the out-sourcing of aircraft maintenance.

Southwest dropped plans to move some of its aircraft maintenance from the U.S. to El Salvador after the FAA fine was announced.

In the case of the United 747s, FAA inspectors discovered that Korean Airlines, which contracts with United to perform maintenance, had failed to calibrate an instrument used to check the jetliners’ altimeters.

Whatever the competitive landscape, travelers at LAX on Wednesday made it clear that they didn’t want airlines to cut corners on maintenance, even if it resulted in delays.

As a frequent business traveler, Boston-based insurance executive Linda Wentworth, 44, said she was used to flight delays, like the one that pushed her flight to Massachusetts back more than an hour.

“I wish the maintenance could be done on a pro-active basis, and it’s always frustrating to wait when you’re trying to get home,” she said. “But safety is key.”

latimes.com

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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