Airplane maintenance has some fliers worried

Most travelers say they have faith in U.S. airlines and regulators.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before boarding an American Airlines flight to Dallas this week, Jody Johnson took an unusual pre-travel precaution: She checked to see whether the aircraft was among those recently grounded because of safety concerns.

She was relieved to learn it was not the same type of plane grounded last week by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines for inspections of wiring along the wheel wells.

“It’s the airlines’ responsibility to us as consumers to offer service that’s safe,” said Johnson, a student from San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Well-publicized equipment problems at American, Southwest and other large carriers is making travelers jittery and adding another headache to the ordeal of air travel.

There are also questions about the outsourcing of maintenance work to overseas facilities and allegations of a too-cozy relationship between airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“You just hope and pray that [airlines] do their homework, because our lives are at stake,” said Grant Schleisner, who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday after a 12-hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand.

Such concerns aren’t likely to fade from fliers’ psyches soon, as Congress and the FAA pledge to step up scrutiny of maintenance procedures. Still, flying on U.S. airlines has never been safer, according to analysts.

And most travelers say they have faith in U.S. carriers and their regulators.

Schleisner, a 63-year-old retiree from San Luis Obispo, Calif., applauded the airliners’ decisions to cancel flights. “I’d rather miss a flight than be put on a plane that you’re not sure about,” he said.

Analysts say any financial impact stemming from fliers concerns about lax maintenance is far outweighed by the punishment the airline industry is taking because of high fuel prices and economic weakness.

In recent years, public sentiment about regulation has been “less is more, but people have a right to be concerned,” said Daniel Petree, dean of the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The public spotlight heated up last month after the FAA took the rare step of ordering the audit of maintenance records at all domestic carriers following reports of missed safety inspections at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co.

The airline was hit with a record $10.2 million fine for continuing to fly dozens of Boeing 737s that hadn’t been inspected for cracks in their fuselages.