[lbo-talk] JetBlue: Outsourcing Our Safety

[Mark S]

>Nathan Newman wrote:
>
>But formal regulation is irrelevent if the actual maintenance is being done
>in countries where US inspectors don't operate.
>
>Regulation is not some Platonic form-- it's often dependent on workers 
>being
>able to blow the whistle on employers violating the law, since the
>government has too few inspectors.  If workers rights are weak, formal
>regulation has little effect.
>
On second thought, that article about the JetBlue emergency landing and 
outsourcing was also slanderous to JetBlue.  I highly recommend the online 
column by pilot Patrick Smith on Salon.com.  He cuts through the blather and 
looks at the cold facts about aviation.  Here's a bit of what he wrote on 
Sept. 9th:

As for "cost-cutting accidents," find me an airline anywhere, of any size 
and history, that is not working hard to reduce costs. And to conclude that 
a "cut-rate" airline increases anybody's risk "dramatically" is dishonest. 
And what is a "cut-rate" airline anyway? Southwest would probably fit that 
bill by most folks' definition, yet it's also the only U.S. major not to 
have a suffered a fatality over the past three decades.

... Averaged out, it's essentially a level playing field, and asking which 
is the safest airline to fly is a bit like asking which is the best lottery 
to play. If you're wondering which criteria to employ, whether you're headed 
for Madison or Madagascar, stick with price, schedule and service.

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2005/09/09/askthepilot153/index.html?sid=1387303

M.

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