New scandal in the United States' air sector?

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Matthieu Desiderio

New Jersey Senator Robert Mendez recently seized the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, part of the United States Department of Transportation) to investigate Continental Airlines case. In 2007, Continental Airlines, a member of the SkyTeam alliance (with Air France-KLM), declared that some of its Boeing 757 aircrafts landed 96 times at Newark Airport (New York/New Jersey) low on fuel.

This situation is particularly critical because it offers no margin to the pilots in case of an unforeseen event during the landing phases, especially if the aircraft is rerouted to another airport. According to the legislation, airlines have to embark enough fuel to be able to fly an additional 30-minutes.

Boeing 757 are not supposed to fly transatlantic…

Continental Airlines Boeing 757 are not originally conceived to cross the Atlantic Ocean, but their small capacity (175 passengers) allows the airline to reach a financial break-even point, on connections flights, when a bigger aircraft would not be profitable. Boeing 757 however have to be adapted to fly transatlantic journeys safely, as the French business-class-only “l’Avion” did on its own planes, carrying half less passengers on board (around 90 business seats). This way, the French company is gaining weigh, and as a consequence, lowers fuel consumption.

Continental Airlines case is quite different since its business model becomes profitable only when planes are fully loaded. Modifying the fueling system is extremely expensive, that may be the reason why Continental Airlines Boeing 757 made 96 minimum fuel declarations in 2007.This new scandal bursts while the American air sector seems more than ever in crisis.

Most of US airlines actually did not invest enough in either new aircrafts or their maintenance during the last few years, mainly because of their poor financial situation (petrol price increases). For instance, United Airlaines parent company UAL Corporation has just released it lost $537 million during 2008 first quarter. In such an economic situation, we can expect numerous mergers, like the Delta/Northwest deal, and also bankruptcies of airlines in the United States during the next couple months…

References

Article: Continental’s 757s Running Low on Fuel on Some Transatlantic Flights, Autopia, Apr. 22, 2008: here
Article: Continental transatlantic flights run low on fuel, The Guardian, Apr. 21, 2008: here
Article: Continental’s Low-Fuel Claims Rise, Wall Street Journal, Apr. 17, 2008: here
Website: L’Avion: here
Website: Continental Airlines: here
Website: Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation: here