From Dr. David Eifrig in Retirement Millionaire:
Stop flying U.S. Air and United... Today.
If you're holding tickets on those airlines, I'd cancel and make other arrangements.
I've been telling friends and family members for years how dangerous these airlines are, and it was confirmed for me again.
An NPR story yesterday morning reported United flew an Airbus jet 200 times with towels stuffed in the oil sump compartment instead of using caps, which cost pennies. U.S. Air flew eight planes ($100 says it was actually more than that) on 1,647 flights without inspecting for cracks on the landing gear.
But the best part is the baloney the airlines spewed out in response:
Over the past nine months, we and the FAA have completed a formal review of our aircraft maintenance tracking systems as well as a comprehensive review of our maintenance program. This collaborative process included efforts to identify the issues, drill down to find the root cause and develop comprehensive fixes...
With these challenges behind us, we look forward to continuing our relationship with the FAA to deliver on our common mission of safety first. US Airways will continue to work with the FAA in a cooperative manner to promptly achieve a negotiated resolution of the FAA's civil penalty proposal... Safety is at the forefront of everything we do at US Airways.
Are you kidding me? "Safety is at the forefront of everything we do..." This is the same airline Consumer Reports in 2007 ranked last out of 18 airlines for customer satisfaction. United Airlines was ranked 16th, ahead of America West.
Last year, in a business deal only idiots could dream up, Nos. 17 (America West) and 18 (U.S. Air) merged, apparently making an even bigger cluster of poor service and safety. And by the way, one minute on their "new" website makes this grown man cry.
Come on people, stop risking your lives and spending your money with a business that treats you poorly and endangers your life.
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