Benjamin Din and Alan Levin, Bloomberg
The Boeing 737 is among the most reliable jets in aviation history. But the aircraft has been involved in several high-profile incidents over the past few years. Let's hope the industry learns from these events and makes sure they do not repeat.
5 months ago
Mary Schlangenstein and Alan Levin, Bloomberg
Thankfully, there were no injuries and the Boeing 757 landed safely. But after the deadly Southwest engine failure in April, this kind of incident is getting extra public attention.
7 months ago
Brian Sumers, Skift
The Department of Transportation's inspector general has several ongoing audits trying to measure the effectiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration. That's probably a nuisance to the FAA, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Oversight is important.
10 months ago
Alan Levin, Bloomberg
The fact that these oversights affected planes bearing fewer seats, used by smaller carriers, is surely of little comfort to some frequent flyers.
10 months ago
Richard Clough, Mary Schlangenstein and Alan Levin, Bloomberg
Southwest has finished its inspections without finding any more fan blade cracks like the one that led to a fatal engine failure in April. Now authorities want other airlines to speed up their inspections of older engines with the highest risk of failure. Passengers would appreciate that too.
11 months ago
Micheline Maynard, Skift
The Southwest accident shows how bold passengers have become in using social media. For now, the FAA isn’t taking steps to curb their activities.
12 months ago
Alan Levin, Bloomberg
Experts say it's hard to fully identify potential weaknesses in jet engine metal. With so much attention focused on the issue following the Southwest engine explosion, new and better techniques should be developed.
1 year ago
Alan Levin, Bloomberg
Air travel in the U.S. has had a remarkable safety record in recent years. But there is clearly room for improvement. While the type of engine failure that killed a Southwest passenger is rare, a thorough investigation — followed by action — is essential to prevent it from happening again.
1 year ago
Alan Levin and Thomas Black, Bloomberg
This story was getting widespread attention even before confirmation that a passenger had died. It's every air traveler's nightmare. While nine years without a fatality is still a reassuring track record, Southwest — and all airlines — must learn from the investigation to better prevent such a catastrophe in the future.
1 year ago
Brian Sumers, Skift
The 60 Minutes report on Sunday about Allegiant Air was solid, serious journalism. But it wasn't much of a surprise to industry insiders, who have known about the carrier's issues for awhile. Will executives have to deal with a wider fallout now?
1 year ago
Alan Levin, Bloomberg
The specifics on which parts of the U.S. aviation sector were hacked are sparse, although the intrusion doesn't seem to have involved airlines directly. Still, the vulnerabilities are not good news.
1 year ago
Dong Lyu and Kyunghee Park, Bloomberg
Vietnam already committed to increasing inbound travel from Europe, thanks to Air France. But long-haul outbound travel will be much more difficult if Vietnam can't meet these safety standards.
1 year ago