Recession Hurting Airline Safety

" While concerns about airline safety always heightened in times of tragedy and in the face of recession and possible cutbacks in the industry should we be even more concerned. Let's ask the man who knows the business inside and now former president and chairman of American Airlines Robert Crandall joining us. He is with -- us by phone mr. Crandall thanks for joining us do we need to be more concerned given the economy."

" No I don't think economy's going to have any impact Brian me. Is that that the culture of safety is deeply dated him all the -- not only in the management studio lions are certainly much concerned about it but the people themselves. So an -- and that tried to economize. Quote and quote not fulfilling me and I think this mandate. We wouldn't be able to do so anyway because the people involved with maintaining the airplanes flying the aircraft. I would quickly get called to their attention than the attention of the media that that safety was being short circuited it just doesn't happen I'm happy day."

" You really does seem that in the past few years and and luckily we've gone through some lengthy stretches without any fatal commercial crashes and airline safety really has only gotten better over the last few decades. That fairly simple things you would think such as mice and birds have made the news here is that the most simple things that we need to worry about the most."

" Brian oil while we need to worry about is those things that it never happened before. In the history of airline safety is that. Each time something happens is it is very careful analysis of it it and then we proceed to take remedial steps to fix it. -- this particular airplanes are relatively new airplane it has. So we have at least as I understand that I don't know the airplane in detail but. That is that I understand it says it's got to anti sir equipment on it should have worked. As somewhere along the way if I it was a problem we're gonna find out what the malfunction was. And that equipment will be re engineered and and it'll be fixed. Same with birds on indeed he recently then this rather spectacular event in New York we know -- urgent threat. But we've never had a circumstance before where birds took out both engines. And so I am certain that is that analysis proceeds. I will -- both the engine manufacturers and the people who maintain the area around the airports. We'll take new steps to make sure that does not happen again."

" How do we balance this out people hate airline delays you know that is always a push to keep it moving we got massive amounts of air traffic in the skies. At all times but we also have to balance it out. With safety now has been a call to upgrade. The FAA in the nation's radar systems obviously in some of the airline. Flight control technology do you feel like we will get that we're spending nearly trillion dollars now we gonna get something Allah help manage out better those two. Plan on policies."

" And in the first place on the emphasize that there's no tradeoff between safety and on time. Operations. We badly need the United States has fallen badly behind interviews -- traffic control system. We need a new assistant GPS based we need to abandon. The radar technology which was after all -- World War II technology. Unfortunately. In I think this current portion -- there is nothing in the S stimulus bill. To provide the capital we need to accelerate progress -- have a new air traffic control system air traffic control. Will greatly improve our ability to operate on time. But it isn't a safety issue. And and and so you can operate more airplanes. It is safely. -- you can operate today but today you can operate very safely. And part of the prices delay. And that delays -- so they can caught. From the fact that we do not have an up to date -- traffic -- process."

" You know savvy yet tens of hundreds of millions of dollars going for wetland preserve and not money to go to one of the most important. Industries in the United States and help our safety kind of sad Robert Crandall former president chairman of American Airlines thank you for joining us -- my pleasure --"