American Promises Smoother Skies Saturday
Airline To Cancel Another 200 Flights
POSTED: 7:50 am HST April 12, 2008
UPDATED: 7:50 am HST April 12, 2008
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American Airlines said it's canceling about 200 flights Saturday but will have all of its MD-80 jets back in service by late afternoon. The cancellations bring to almost 3,300 the number of flights the carrier has canceled since Tuesday. The disruptions started when the nation's largest airline yanked 300 planes out of service to bring them up to federal safety standards on wrapping electrical wires to prevent fires.By late Friday afternoon, American had re-inspected and put back into service 231 of the MD-80s, according to the carrier's Web site. Most of the remainder of the fleet was expected to be readied for service Friday night.The airline will operate about 75 percent of its MD-80 schedule early Saturday, with all planes in service by late Saturday afternoon.The airline canceled 595 flights Friday, leaving many travelers fuming for the fourth-straight day.On Thursday, the airline canceled more than 930 flights, following the cancellation of 1,094 flights on Wednesday and 460 on Tuesday. A California woman stranded in Chicago said she was "really upset" but that there was no point in yelling at American employees.She blamed management. American CEO Gerard Arpey said this week's problems will cost tens of millions of dollars."We regret and apologize that we are once again causing inconvenience to our customers, but we will continue to work in good faith until we satisfy all of the technical issues related to this airworthiness directive," Arpey has said.At least 250,000 passengers have been affected.
Bush Reaction
The White House said President George W. Bush is keeping a close eye on problems in the airline industry that have interrupted travel for thousands of passengers. Spokesman Scott Stanzel said the issue will be discussed Monday at a Bush Cabinet meeting that already was set to take up such issues as Iraq, the housing crunch and a trade dispute with Congress. Since last month's revelation that Southwest Airlines flew planes that had missed inspections -- a violation of federal standards -- the Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its scrutiny of aircraft inspections.
Previous Stories:
- April 10, 2008: American Cancels 570 Flights For Friday
- April 8, 2008: American Airlines Canceling 500 More Flights
- March 28, 2008: American, Delta Schedules Back To Normal
- March 27, 2008: Delta, American To Cancel 400-Plus Flights
- March 26, 2008: About 300 American Airlines Flights Canceled
Across The Country:
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